


Soulmate Saga

by feartheViolet



Series: Takamori: Unlimited AU Works [3]
Category: HoloEN, Hololive, Virtual Streamer Animated Characters
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, AmeSame - side pairing, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Immortals, One Shot Collection, Romantic Soulmates, Singing, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmate-Identifying Timers, Takamori, Tsunderes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-13 16:47:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 26,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28906593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/feartheViolet/pseuds/feartheViolet
Summary: A collection of 5 individual Takamori Soulmate AU one-shots.Having a timer that counts down when they’ll first meet, only seeing color when they first lock eyes, time stops when they first get near each other, and more. This fic will be reimagining the Takamori pairing as both their immortal selves and as human versions of their online personas, set in worlds with different variations of the Soulmate Alternate Universe writing prompt. Episodic and will sometimes crossover with other AU settings, each chapter will be designed to stand on its own.
Relationships: Gawr Gura/Watson Amelia (hololive), Mori Calliope/Takanashi Kiara
Series: Takamori: Unlimited AU Works [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2091660
Comments: 30
Kudos: 313





	1. Death Counts

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't decide which Soulmate AU I wanted to write, so I went "Why not write 5?" And like that, I thought up 5 different Soulmate AU stories that I compiled for this fanfic.
> 
> For those who don't know, the Soulmate AU setting is a writing prompt that reimagines pairings in a universe wherein the concept of having soulmates, destined partners, is real. There's been countless differing versions of this specific AU invented and reimagined by fan creators of all fandoms, like those mentioned in the summary. This will be a one-shot collection of my 5 picks that I want to write with the Takamori pairing.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mori Calliope is a reaper who for some reason was fated to have a soulmate.  
> In the time between reaping souls, she sometimes watches as her clock ticks down to when she’ll first meet her other half.  
> “Ridiculous” She says. How could someone be fated to be with an immortal like her?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't planning on writing more than 2 fics with this pairing originally.  
> But then the support on Dead She Beats My Heart happened.

“538 years…” Somewhere in a plane of existence unseen by mortal eyes, a voice reads out a number written on her wrist. “Ridiculous.” She says, solemnly standing in a field of darkness and lost souls. The underworld was quite barren most of the time after all. It definitely wasn’t a place anyone would go to see the sights, even for an immortal like the woman taking her break in it right now. The reaper had just finished doing her duties leading another set of souls down to their afterlife in this darkened plane. She’d been working hard in her duties to meet the expectations placed upon her as the apprentice of Lord Death. Because of this, her breaks are few and far in between. “Just who are they anyway?” She asks nobody in particular as she runs a finger across the long countdown. It was a strange thing after all, for a reaper to be fated to have a soulmate. “Why won’t you tell me, Sensei?”

… _100 years earlier_ …

“In the beginning, the world was nothing.” A cloaked figure speaks inside a darkened room. “Existence had not yet come to be, and the world was an empty void.” He speaks a voice not of sound, but of the mind. At first glance, one might think he’s simply a concealed human, but a second look would let one see the giant scythe wreathed in black ash floating beside him. “But then there came one being. A singular power capable of creation in a void of nothingness.” He tells a story, seemingly to another presence standing before him. “They created the multiverse and watched as their creation blossomed. Some call them a god, the one above all, or whatever name the humans give them.” He explains as the other listens. “But we, as guardians of the world they left behind, call them the world’s Author. This you should know, young apprentice.” He acknowledges the other presence.

“Yes, Sensei.” A female voice responds. “I have undertaken the necessary studies in order to meet the requirements set for me to be your apprentice.” She appeared to a human with pink hair, but her own scythe of silver and black resting on her back might convince someone otherwise. Her tone indicated that she’s holding the other figure in a high sense of respect. “Yet I still fail to see how the tale of creation would relate to my inquiry. Why would I, an immortal reaper in service to Lord Death, be fated to have a soulmate?” She asks, watching her words carefully in her master’s presence. “Why would the fates assign me a soul when I myself lead souls into the underworld?” The apprentice asks.

“I see that you are diligent in informing yourself about our role, young Mori Calliope.” Lord Death speaks his apprentice’s name. “Yet I also see that you still neglect to educate yourself about the roles of our counterparts as well.” Death tells his apprentice.

“They are unnecessary to fulfilling my duties.” Mori says. “The guardians of Life and Destiny have no impact on my efficiency.” She says, straight and to the point.

“Perhaps.” Death replies. “But it could tell you more things about our world, young one.” Mori could never see a mouth underneath that cloak, but she swears she could feel her teacher smile beneath it. “For as we reapers are the guardians of death and the aeons are the guardians of life, the fates are the guardians of destiny.” The Lord of Death repeats. “Tell me what you know of all of them, apprentice.” He asks of Mori.

“We reapers guide souls into their afterlife.” The apprentice does as she’s asked. “We lead them to where they shall go when they meet their end. Whether it is to their eternal damnation here in the underworld or to go back to the stream of life to reincarnate under judgement of the aeons.” She recites the written texts. “But the fates are not like us. They are weavers of desire, emotion, and destiny. They meddle in human affairs while the rest of us do not.” The reaper tells her master.

“Yes, that is correct. And it is them who make it so that humans are destined to have soulmates.” Lord Death continues the thought. “Through them, humans are forever destined to find a partner. Weavers of the threads of destiny.” He pauses for a moment to let his apprentice think. “And you ask why you, a reaper, have found yourself caught in one of their strings?” Mori nods to confirm. “Tell me, have you ever wondered why you take on a human form?” He asks.

“All reapers take on some form or another.” Mori answers. “Whether that form is of a devil like the other candidates for your apprentice, a vague manifestation like yours, or something rarer such as a humanoid like me.” Once again stating what she’s learned.

“But do you know why exactly we take the forms we do?” This time, Mori jolts as she doesn’t know the answer to this one. “Then I shall inform you, young pupil. You may have beaten the other candidates in meeting the requirements to be my apprentice, but you are still young considering how short you have served your role.” Mori stays quiet for this one, letting her teacher explain. “The ones taking devil forms are like so due to their souls being inherently corrupt. They are evil because their souls were tainted in their time as mortals.” Mori’s eyes visibly widen at this. “Yes, they were mortals before they became devils. Just like how you were a mortal before you were reborn as one of my pupils. However, not due to tainting your soul with evil.” He teaches the young reaper the things she’s just now learning about. “And ones such as I are the exceptions. We exist as a natural part of the underworld. Neither souls nor former mortals. We are constants that maintain the balance of our realm.”

“But why am I fated?” Mori raises her question once again. “If the fates only give mortals soulmates, then why was I destined to meet mine hundreds of years from now?” She asks, still confused. “I know that there has not been another reaper taking a human form like me in the current era, but why am I so when the devils do not have a number assigned to them?” She presses her teacher.

“That, my pupil, is something you will have to answer yourself.” Death tells Mori. “While yes, I agree that it is unusual for one of our kind to be fated, I know that it is not impossible.” His apprentice visibly looks curious. “You said you shall meet them hundreds of years from now, correct?” He asks and Mori nods. “Then you shall have your answer then. Practice patience, young one. I know you work hard, but sometimes that drive leads to having less time going over your own understanding of how our roles are.” He leaves his apprentice hanging on her question. “In time, Mori Calliope. You’ll come to understand the workings of the fates then. You are dismissed and may go back to your duties.” Lord Death lets his apprentice go.

…

Mori Calliope once again gazes at her left wrist, willing the number to show itself once more. “216 years.” She reads, once again after tending to the steady stream of souls being sent to the underworld under her watchful eyes. She did her job well. As next in line to take the mantle of Lord Death, she made sure that she had the right to earn the position. She manifested in the world countless times now, seeing death fall upon millennia of humans. She saw all kinds of ill endings fall upon the mortals. Some die of natural causes. They were the fortunate ones to see their life end in old age, and some less fortunate ones who succumbed to sickness and mortal shortcomings. Some die with honor on fields of battle. They were the ones who fought valiantly in service of king and country. Then there were those who were tricked and deceived. Made use of only to then be tossed aside and eliminated. She didn’t care about their pleas or cries about unfairness. She didn’t even feel emotion. She was only there to lead them to their fate after all, not to hear them out. “What kind of mortal would they be, then?” The apprentice silently asks. She spent a lot of her free time like this. Pondering about the kind of person her fated would be. How they would react to meeting their destined only to realize that she’s an immortal reaper who cannot live alongside a mortal. Mori’s teacher never did answer her question after that one meeting. Lord Death was also quite busy, so the young student never did bother him again after being sent off once. She wonders, because the only time she ever spends in the human world was when she’d reap souls to lead to the afterlife. “Am I fated to meet them when they die?” She asks the obvious question.

…

War. A time when conflict rises to the surface, and when lives are put on the line to enable change. The clangs and ticks of metal-on-metal echo across the wide battlefield. Along with them, the whizzing in the air made by spells and arrows flying overhead tell of a time devoid of mercy. Human soldiers fight hordes after hordes of mad orcs, goblins, giants, and other such monsters. The kingdom had to drive the armies back, or else fall under the tyrannical rule of the Demon Lord. Countless lives have been lost already, and the humans cannot afford losing the capital city. One warrior in particular fights in order to make the last stand.

Takanashi Kiara wasn’t your ordinary human warrior. In fact, she wasn’t even human. While her fellow warriors and adventurers fight beside her thinking of her as one of them, they didn’t know of her true identity. “Take this!” She shouts as she drives her blazing blade of fire across the chest of the giant acting as this enemy battalion’s general, leaving behind a large, cauterized cut. The tall mass of gray skin falls, shaking the ground around it, defeated. “Everyone! Move forward! With the general down, the rest will scatter!” She rallies her allies as a legion of soldiers, archers, and spellcasters push forward to drive back the demon lord’s army, victory looking like it’s in the hands of the kingdom. This girl was an adventurer leading a party of human warriors, but her true identity was that of something a lot more special than just another human.

“Kiara!” One of the warrior’s allies calls her name. “Bad news!” This one was one of her party’s clerics. A young human girl with dark hair, holding an ancient tome representing her devotion as a priestess of the Old Ones. “I received a message from another troop's Sending spell. A high-ranking demon managed to slip through the Atlantean army’s defenses! Gura managed to drive back the majority of the demon army headed there, but that one went straight past them, headed for the outermost village, and the civilians haven’t all been evacuated yet!” The maiden tells the warrior.

“They managed to sneak by Gura?” Kiara asks for the priestess to confirm, who does so with a nod. “Dammit!” The warrior curses. “And what of Amelia and the Mage’s Guild? How are they fairing, Ina?” She further assesses the situation.

“They’re doing their best defending the kingdom’s walls.” Ina tells Kiara. “Ame’s leading the defense so the wall won’t fall, but the village the demon is headed towards isn’t built inside it.” The priestess informs the warrior. “Their evacuation hasn’t been completed because the noble of their land refuses to let them pass before his carriages. If the demon gets to them, it’ll be a massacre with many civilians dying!” Then, Ina takes a deep breath before speaking what she says next. “I know you still haven’t told everyone, but I think you’re the only one who can reach them in time. You have to use your powers! It’s the only way!”

“I guess you’re right about that.” Kiara was more than just a human. The only ones who knew of her secret was the close friends she fought alongside with. Ina - a priestess of the Old Ones, Gura – an Atlantean royal skilled with the trident, and Amelia – the Mage’s Guild’s top student capable of using time magic. The adventuring party helped a lot of people in their days, but in this surprise attack, they were divided as they all had roles to play in this defense of the kingdom. “Alright, I’ll be sure to come back alive. You’ll all be able to handle yourselves, right?” She asks Ina, who gives her a confident nod.

“You’ll definitely come back, Tenchou.” The priestess smiles. “You have your soulmate to meet today, after all.” Ina was right. Kiara had been looking forward to today. She’s waited her entire life for this day. It was the day when her count told her that she’s destined to meet her soulmate. She had to survive. “You ended the fight here, Gura succeeded in driving back the other army, and Ame can hold the wall even on her own. We’ll be fine.” Ina assures her friend.

“Then I’ll see you when I defeat that creature, Ina. Be safe.” And as Kiara says her parting words, a vortex of fire surrounds the female warrior. This, however, didn’t surprise Ninomae Ina’nis. For she knew about how phoenixes take the form of flaming birds. Majestic creatures said to be immortal. She also knew that it was unusual for an immortal being such as Kiara to have a soulmate, so Ina was aware of what today meant to the mythical warrior. 

…

A panic, Mori Calliope thinks as she’s once again summoned to the mortal world to lead new souls to their afterlife. This time, she observes as peasants of various ages crowd behind wooden carriages. They seemed to be running away from something, as indicated by the rush to get behind an outer wall spanning a vast distance. Something will be attacking them today and based on what the reaper sees fast approaching behind her, it looked like a large demon was flying in their direction.

“Unfortunate.” She says, despite none of the mortals being able to see nor hear her. She knew the fates of these humans. It was why she was summoned here after all. They’re all fated to die here at the claws and jaws of the black demon. “Will it be one of you?” She asks to deaf ears, as she wonders if her soulmate was one of the ones panicking behind the carriages. Mori Calliope turns her head to look further up the path. It seemed that these were civilians evacuating due to an attack. In the distance lied an empty village where she presumed they lived in. It looked like they were hurrying to get inside city walls, but the shouting of a noble told her that they’re being refused passage as the fat man insists on giving his carriages priority. “Filthy humans and their greed…” The reaper mutters to herself. She’s known plenty of humans in her time as a reaper. She knows that a lot of them had unhealthy attachments to earthly possessions. She’s never understood this, as an immortal. She thought of them as shameless beings who wasted their limited time on superficial concerns. But then, the shouting stopped as the grouping of humans suddenly turn to notice what’s flying towards them. “It only takes one to cut short the lives of others.” The demon stops in front of the crowd, its tall black frame accompanied by two large bat wings, a forked tail, and fangs that could crush stone with its size. They were doomed.

“DO NOT FEAR!!!” Mori Calliope was suddenly compelled to look away as she turns to look behind her and sees a vortex of fire reveal a female warrior with bright orange hair. “Demon! Your fight is with me!” She shouts as she raises a sword blazing with bright fire, which gets the demon’s attention. “That’s right! You know what I am, don’t you!?” The girl also pulls out a shield to accompany her weapon. It also burns with a blinding light. “You know that phoenix blood tastes a lot better than humans, right?” She shouts as the demon’s full attention becomes hers.

“A phoenix?” Mori wonders. She’s heard of these creatures before. Immortal beings blessed with magic allowing them to die and live again from the ashes of their corpse. She’s never seen one before, even in the hundreds of years of her service to Lord Death. “She takes the form of a human?” She ponders the thought as the blazing warrior and the evil creature make battle.

“You will not kill humans today, dark creature!” Takanashi Kiara shouts as her and the demon trade blows. Her sword slashed and burned all across the dark monster’s body. Her movements were fast as she circled the larger beast, making quick and effective slashes. A good strike even allowed her to cut off one of the foul beast’s wings. “Ah!” But the demon was also no joke. This creature was one of high rank. Not enough to the point where it was one of the ones that were intelligent and manipulative, but rather one of terrifying martial prowess. The Demon Lord only made use of his best dogs to fight in his army after all, and this black demon was one of those. “I won’t fall!!!” Kiara ducks under a swipe, narrowly missing a slash from the creature’s claws. “AHH!!!” But she couldn’t avoid the poisoned tri-spear impaling her side as the demon’s tail struck her vitals. “No! you won’t get me that easily!” Kiara twists her weapon in her hand, holds it with the blade pointing down, grips the creature’s tail with her left hand, and cleanly cuts the body part with the flaming edge. “Ugh!” She was free, but she could feel the beast’s poison invading her body. “No…”

“Tragic.” Mori Calliope watches as the fight looked like an even match. She knew of a phoenix’s strength, but also that one of the most potent counters to them was the poison inflicted by a black demon. “She’ll die, and so will the humans.” She believes that, however was confused when the girl refused to lie down. She didn't know why, but this warrior had her full attention as well. “What? Why are you standing?” The warrior suddenly erupts into roaring flames. A swirling tornado of magical fire colored in orange and teal light. The demon leaps upwards to avoid the fire. “What’s the point? Why even continue?” She asks no one who could hear, as she continues to observe the battle unfold.

“Heh…” Within the fire, Takanashi Kiara’s spirit burns. She extends her arm upwards and raises her sword towards the dark creature. “I’m sorry, Ina…” She softly speaks as the sword’s blade burns even brighter and two large wings with feathers made of fire emerge from her back. “I guess I won’t come back to you today after all. Take care of Gura and Ame for me until I come back, okay?” The fire all around the warrior suddenly flows and moves into the tip of her blazing sword, making the blade burn a blinding white. “But I won’t let these people die.” She leaps up to meet the creature in the air, boosted by the thrust her wings gave her. “I guess it was meant to be one of you…” She takes one last look at the people she protected, taking in their worried faces, but unable to see one face in particular also looking at her. “Please die.” And with one spin of her body, the mythical warrior of blazing flame slashes once with her sword and lets out a grand cut followed by the brightest trail of fire humans have ever seen. The black demon growls one last time, as its body was cut in half. The phoenix fire searing its entire outline and ending its life. “If only we could’ve met sooner…” Kiara whispers, as the poison courses through her veins, stopping her heart and ending her life.

…

Mori Calliope watches as the phoenix’s dead body falls to the ground along with the two halves of the demon she’d defeated. The mythical warrior had succumbed to the creature’s poison, and in her last moments, used up her fire to save the lives of the peasants she most likely didn’t even know. They surround the girl’s body, inspecting it for any signs of life. They wanted to thank their savior but were too late as the warrior’s life had left her body. Mori Calliope knew this because she could see the girl’s soul leave her corpse that slowly fades into ashes. The reaper walks up, knowing that her job was to guide the warrior’s soul instead of any of the humans. Although, she wondered how exactly again she was supposed to handle an immortal’s soul, as this was her first time guiding a phoenix.

“Hello.” The reaper speaks to the humanoid figure that looked like the warrior earlier. It seemed her soul kept her human form rather than her bird form. “I suppose you already know what happened to you.” She approaches the phoenix from behind, who looked like she was still concerned with the humans mourning her.

“Huh?” Takanashi Kiara turns her head to look at the reaper. “Oh, I suppose you’re here to guide me, right? You’re what they call a reaper?” She asks, unusually calm, Mori thinks. “I’m sorry, I haven’t actually died before. This is my first time going through this.” She fully turns around to face the pink-haired immortal. “I’m Takanashi Kiara! What’s your name?” She asks her guide, unusually casual.

“My name is unnecessary. I am just here to guide you to where you’ll stay until you eventually rise again.” Mori tells the phoenix what she knows to be the standard process for immortals. “You are to stay in the underworld for until you recover your life force and rise again from your ashes.” She informs the warrior’s soul. “Any business you have here will have to be left behind as you take your time to reconstitute.” The reaper says, devoid of all emotion.

“Aw, c’mon. What’s the harm in telling me your name, miss reaper?” Kiara once again presses her guide. “It’s as you said. I’m gonna be staying down in the underworld with you for a while, so I might as well know you.” It seemed Kiara was aware of how her reincarnation worked. “I used up nearly all the magic I had stored in me for that last attack. It’ll probably be months until I can be alive again in the human world.” She says, all too casual for Mori’s liking.

“Why do you help them?” The reaper’s curiosity took the better of her. “They’re filthy mortals. Their greed was what caused them to be in the situation in the first place. Why would you waste your life to save them when you have an eternity to live?” Takanashi Kiara turns around to face her.

“Because I care about them.” She states, causing Mori to visibly look confused. “Maybe you would too, if you didn’t only see them in their last moments.” The phoenix converses with the reaper. “Spending time with them taught me a lot of things. Even as an immortal, their traditions and customs were very fun to partake in.” The warrior smiles.

“But why would you form bonds with them? What makes you so inclined to relate to them when you know you’ll only see the ones close to you die again and again?” Death’s apprentice asked the other immortal.

“It’s because I wanted to find my soulmate.” Kiara states, making Mori take a few steps back at the word. “I was supposed to meet them today, too.” The warrior raises her right arm and wills a number to appear on her wrist. “It’s strange. I first got close to them because I wanted to know what the number meant. I spent 500 years of my life interacting with them to gain their knowledge. Apparently, humans were made by the fates to have destined partners. Yet, here I was, an immortal also assigned my own. I didn’t understand.” Mori Calliope stays silent and lets the phoenix talk, realizing what this revelation meant. “I learned what they meant by ‘love’. A mortal emotion that made you form close bonds with others. I wanted to know what love is like, so I decided to get closer to as many humans as I can. I knew that the only one I could truly love was my soulmate, but I was still able to love many humans despite that. I enjoyed it. I made a lot of friends that way.” Kiara recalls her forming close bonds with her adventuring party.

“So, you also thought that only mortals had soulmates?” Mori Calliope asks as she walks forward and takes the phoenix’s right arm. “Can you make your count appear?” She asks Kiara, who goes along with it. The 0 days appearing on her arm confirming everything the reaper thought. “It’s you.” She looks the phoenix in the eye.

“Huh?” Takanashi Kiara didn’t know why yet, but the physical contact of this girl grabbing her wrist made her want to blush – if she still even had blood. “W-What?” She stutters. Why? She asks. For some reason looking this reaper in the eyes triggered something within her.

“I-I…” Mori Calliope also felt something rise inside her. “I have something to show, too.” She says as she raises her left hand and wills a number to appear on her wrist, reading 0 days. This caused the warrior’s eyes to widen, and then have her assault the reaper with a hug. “Guh! Woah! What are you doing?” Mori awkwardly slurs her words. Strange, that’s never happened before. She’s always managed to keep her composure.

“It’s you!” Takanashi Kiara says while hugging the girl. “All this time, I thought it had to be a human!” She couldn’t see the reaper’s face blushing intensely due to the physical contact. “That’s why! I had a soulmate because my soulmate was an immortal like me!” She giddily laughs. “Now that I look at you, you actually are pretty hot.” The phoenix admits as the reaper fumbles her way free of the embrace.

“E-enough!” Mori backs away. “Y-yes, that does explain some things.” Why was she like this? What’s this warm feeling inside her? “I suppose that makes sense as to why we have these things.” She once again raises her wrist to show her number. “I can’t understand w-why you were chosen to be my fated, but I won’t let it interfere with my duties. I still have to take you to the underworld until you come back to life.” The reaper tries to go back to her duties, but for some strange reason, feels a slight warmth spreading across her cheeks. “Come on, I have to lead you down there.” She turns around, unconsciously trying to hide her face from the other girl.

“Your name.” Mori Calliope stops in her tracks. “Tell me your name, and I’ll come with you.” Is she really doing this? Mori thinks. “My name’s Takanashi Kiara! I’m a phoenix and also a warrior who fights alongside humans!” Kiara says to the reaper.

“Fine, if it’ll get you to come quietly.” The reaper turns around to face her destined one. “My name’s Mori Calliope. I’m a reaper in training. There, is that enough?” Kiara smiles.

“Alright then, Calli~” Takanashi Kiara calls the reaper by a nickname, which causes something to bubble up inside Mori. “Anything for my wife.” She teases the immortal reaper.

“ALRIGHT, ENOUGH!!!” Mori shouts, causing Kiara to laugh more. “I still have a job to do.” She states, bluntly, which causes Kiara to frown a little. “B-but I’ll still be able to accompany you in your stay!” That’s strange, she never wanted to comfort a soul before. “W-we’ll figure out what we’ll do about… us… then…” She awkwardly lets out.

“HA↙HA↙HA↙” The phoenix laughs at the flustered reaper. “Of course, Calli. We’ll get to know each other then.” She gives the reaper a wink, causing Mori to pull out her scythe and point it at the soul. “Woah save that for the bed, Calli~” But Kiara refuses to let up.

“Shut it, Kusotori!” The reaper fires back with her own nickname, which only causes more hollering from the bottom-left bird. “Just come here already…” Mori lowers her scythe and offers her hand to the phoenix’s soul, with a slight blush in her cheeks. “And don’t misunderstand, this is just how we’re supposed to do things.” As much as Mori would like to refuse it, it was standard procedure to guide souls by the hand.

“Alright, Calli. But you don’t have to deny it, you know?” Kiara takes the reaper’s hand. “I have a feeling we’ll be seeing each other quite often in our infinite lifetimes~” She gives the pink-haired reaper another wink. It seems the two were fated to forever meet each other time and time again. As the fates would have it, two immortals were destined to have their lives intertwined. Their threads, interwoven as beings of life and death, were fated to tie together. This was the story of their first encounter, and both expect many more to come in their long long lives. For as each time Takanashi Kiara were to die, she would meet her destined one another time, because her fated was a reaper named Mori Calliope.

The fates work in mysterious ways after all. Some believe they even have the power to weave destiny beyond just this universe. If you were to ask Lord Death and receive a straight answer, he would tell you that the World's Author made the fates be so out of inspiration. A desire to see how their creation would evolve with the hands of fate. The fateful knowledge the guardian of Death didn't tell his apprentice was that these two souls were woven by the fates to be destined to meet each other beyond just this world. The Author created a multiverse after all. Only, Lord Death was no being knowledgeable enough to be aware of exactly what entails the two in these other _**alternate universes.**_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, it's me, the **author.** I'm back again to write more Takamori.
> 
> If this fic was your first exposure to me, then I'd like to tell you that I also have other works dedicated to Takamori. Feel free to check out this work's series page for more should you decide that you want to read more of my writing. This work won't be a full narrative like my last fic, so if you want to read something with a full story, feel free to check out that one. 
> 
> Daily updates won't be a goal for this work because each chapter is probably gonna have a longer average wordcount than my previous fic. I loved writing out that previous story, but forcing myself to do daily updates did tire me out by the end. All chapters will be their own individual stories anyway, so I'm gonna work on them when I have the time to do so, rather than taking time from my schedule and miss out on other hobbies and responsibilities. I just kind of went overboard with the length on this one because I really wanted to write a fantasy fight, so I'm not sure if all chapters are gonna be as long as this one. Either way, I hope I'll see you around in the next chapters!~


	2. And The World Was So Bright

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takanashi Kiara starts her high school life wanting one thing:  
> To find her soulmate and know what it’s like to see color.  
> That's what she kept telling herself for 2 years straight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did someone say...  
> High School AU?

Today was a warm morning in Japan. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and the sound of dozens of footsteps walking out of a school assembly hall indicated the start of a new school year. At the grounds of a specific high school, one could see a batch of young boys and girls all dressed in their uniforms, chatting with each other as an entrance ceremony seemingly just finished. For a specific class, it was the start of their final year in high school. As the bell chimed and the gates closed, the third years of Hololive High School pull at their seats and sit down at their desks. Class was about to start, and for a specific student, it was the year she would make do on a promise to herself, although it’s the third time she’s said that to herself at the year’s start.

“Good morning class!” The door to class 3-EN opens as a black-haired woman enters the room and walks up to the front. Her hair was dark. Even those who could only see it in their greyscale view would know that the woman’s hair was of the blackest black. However, those capable of seeing the spectrum would be able to see that it also contained strands of red. The collective student body then politely reacts and greets their homeroom teacher.

“Good morning, Enma-sensei!” The classroom echoes as the third years of the high school all say their teacher’s name. It was the first day, but almost all of the students already know their teacher, as their school was pretty exclusive and so had staff that were paid to be outstanding and memorable to the student body. Those fortunate enough to be able to see color would recognize the instructor for her deep red eyes.

“Greetings to all of you once again. As I’m sure you were all informed, I’m Enma and I’ll serve as the homeroom teacher for the third-years.” Enma once again calls to the class. “This will be your last year with us, so I’m sure I don’t have to say that this year will be one you should make count.” The educator tells the class as she picks up the record sheet on her desk, preparing to call the names of all the students in her class. “Amelia Watson!” She sees a girl with blonde hair raise her hand. She goes through a couple more names and calls another one. “Gawr Gura!” A shorter girl in a blue hoodie follows suit. More names get read and then came: “Ninomae Ina’nis!” A girl with darker hair more timidly raises hers. Each name in the class was eventually read out in alphabetical order. The class amounted to around 25 students for the third years. Being students of a private institution, only few were truly fortunate enough to enroll in the prestigious Performing Arts school. Then, eventually, the teacher read out the last name on her list. “Takanashi Kiara!” She calls for a particular brightly haired girl, able to see her bright orange locks.

“Kikeriki!~” An outgoing girl with seemingly bright colored hair in terms of the greyscale, containing hints of another color, raises her hand. Satisfied that all names were present, Enma gives one nod and lays the attendance sheet down on the desk. And like that, it has started. Today was Takanashi Kiara’s first day in her last year of high school. The girl made a promise to herself this year, after all. “This’ll be the year…” She quietly whispers as she remembers the goal that she set for herself. “I’ll meet them, then I’ll be able to see too.” To find and lock eyes with her soulmate and see for herself what seeing more than just black and white is like. “Please, maybe?” Though she has been losing hope that it even can be fulfilled.

… _2 years ago_ …

“Welcome to Hololive!” A seemingly plain-looking Japanese man addresses the new year of students enrolled in the Performing Arts school. “My name is Motoaki Tanigo, and I am the principal and founder of this prestigious academy.” He speaks into a microphone which echoes his voice across multiple speakers in the school’s assembly hall. “It is my hope and dream, that through Hololive’s Performing Arts courses, we may foster a new era of talent and cultivate the inherent skill present in all of you.” Takanashi Kiara continues to listen to the man speak. She stares for a while at his black hair and skin on the lighter side of the greyscale. Looking around her, she could also see a lot of other students who were probably enrolled in here for the same reason as her. One of her classmates was a girl with obviously white hair, which was another easy color to determine in her black and white vision. “And before we proceed to your first day, I would like to request something out of all of you.” Tanigo’s voice speaks to the collective. “I would like to assess myself what this next batch is like, so I humbly ask all those able to see color to raise their hand. Don’t be shy.”

Of course, Kiara thinks as around eight total students raise their hands. They were the lucky ones. It was a Performing Arts school after all, so large emphasis was placed on knowing which students had the capability to see color. Humans were a strange species. Unlike most animals, they were a race that start their lives unable to see the spectrum of color. It was only when two humans destined for each other – or “soulmates” – gaze into each other’s eyes for around six seconds that they unlock this usually normal function of their bodies. Religious humans believed this to be because of divine intervention. A gift from the fates that made each human want to seek out their other half. While the more scientific population believed this to be caused by natural evolution. The human retina contained a special sensory mechanism that led directly to the heart. According to them, whenever two soulmates stared into each other’s eyes for a period of at least six seconds, the heart would start beating rapidly from latent emotions and activate the ability to see color. Takanashi Kiara didn’t really care about which side was right. All she truly wanted was to know what’s so wonderful about being able to see whatever “color” is. She was a curious girl and, like many of her age, love fascinated her. So, it was this year when she wanted to find her own soulmate and know what’s so magnificent about that moment. But that’s what she also told herself next year… And the year after that…

…

“Hey.” A girl with dark hair calls to Takanashi Kiara from one her adjacent seats. “Hey, Kiara.” She whispers with a lowered voice, obviously trying not to attract the attention of their instructor who’s currently preoccupied with looking over the class record.

“Oh, hey Ina.” Kiara greets her seatmate and good friend. “What’s up?” She asks, even though she probably already expects what Ina wants to say.

“Did you find them yet?” Kiara knew that ‘them’ meant her soulmate. “Like over the break or something?” Ninomae Ina’nis asks.

“Unfortunately, no…” The girl with lighter hair lets out a disappointed sigh. “I still don’t know who they are…” She tells her friend. Reminded once again of the false hope she placed in herself.

“Aww, that’s a shame.” Ina knew of the outgoing girl’s plight. While she herself wasn’t as concerned with finding her own soulmate, she knew how much Takanashi Kiara wanted to meet hers. The bright haired girl spent a lot of her two years at the school trying to ask a lot of her senpais and even some of her classmates. It’s not like Kiara was doing so with ill intent either. A lot of the students ended up liking the young girl, and most of them ended up as good friends too. Kiara’s just one of the ones who want to meet her soulmate so badly, and her close friends knew this about her. “Maybe you weren’t meant to find them here after all.” Ina whispers.

“Yeah…” Kiara sighs. “I’ve asked nearly everyone open to the idea already too and it’s not like anyone new is gonna be showing up this year either…”

“Did you not hear?” The dark-haired girl asks. Hear what? Kiara thinks as she tilts her head in confusion. “Alright, I’ll spit it out. We’re getting a transfer student this year.” Ina breaks the news, which piques the bright-haired girl’s interest.

“Really!?” Kiara loudly lets out as she also pushes back her chair and stands up from her desk, causing Enma to glare at the two students obviously having a chat while she’s handling something near the door. “Sorry…” Kiara apologizes and goes back to sitting. “Are we meeting him or her today?” She quietly whispers to Ina.

“Humu humu” Ninomae Ina’nis mumbles as she nods her head. “Although, with how things have been going for you. I probably wouldn’t count on _her_ being the one. Just so you know.” Kiara knew Ina was probably right. It’s already been two years and she hasn’t found her soulmate here. What are the odds this new girl would be the one? “I won’t worry too much about it. Ame and Gura are probably just playing up how seeing color is like anyway.” Then, almost as if called by convenient timing, the door to their classroom opens and the instructor lets a new girl in to meet the class.

Takanashi Kiara watches as a girl with long seemingly light hair on the greyscale walks up to the front of the class. She looked like she was taller than Kiara if only by a little bit, and she also didn’t appear to be wearing the school uniform yet. The transfer student looked more like someone fresh off the street with her black jacket and denim jeans than a proper student in school-issued uniform. Though, Kiara had to admit, she did find that kind of hot.

“Alright, class.” Enma calls to the students. “As some of you already know, we’ll be having a transfer student this year. I’d like you all to welcome her as she introduces herself.” The teacher turns to the new girl and gestures for her to speak. A few seconds pass before she manages to let out a word.

“…hi…” The class could barely hear the quiet whisper. It didn’t help that this new girl was looking down either. “I’m… Mori Calliope.” Takanashi Kiara catches her name. Though, this girl was a little strange. She looked like a punk but looking closely at her allowed Kiara to see that she’s purposefully avoiding eye contact with any of the students. “I like to sing, I guess.” She tells the class, quite meek, and was then followed by an uncomfortably long silence. “That’s something.” She says after the silence.

“That’s enough for now Calliope.” The teacher walks up beside the new girl then addresses the class. “I know all of you have already formed bonds in your first two years, but I hope that you’ll all be welcoming of our new friend here.” Yeah, that’s right. Kiara makes the connection.

This school was a private institution after all, and so barely had any late transfers beyond the first year. Of course this new girl would be nervous. She’s joining them when there’s already pre-established relationships built upon two years of camaraderie after all. She probably doesn’t know anyone here.

“There’s an empty seat in the class.” Enma informs the new girl. “The one in front of the girl seated at the bottom-leftmost row facing the board.” The instructor points to Kiara, who mentally jumps in surprise a little. “You can sit in front of Takanashi.” Kiara watching as the new girl’s eyes scan the room and look at her. For a brief moment, Mori Calliope makes eye contact with Kiara for a second, who swears felt her heartbeat all of a sudden quicken and then stop as the new girl immediately looks away.

Then, Takanashi Kiara watches as the new girl makes her way down the makeshift isles of desks and chairs to move to her assigned seat. She notices how the girl moves and seems to always be looking down at the ground while lowering her head. Mori Calliope avoids contact with the rest of her class and just quickly pulls her chair out and sits down, facing her back to the girl behind her. It was here when Kiara wanted to do something.

“Psst!” Mori Calliope hears a sound she thinks was meant to get her attention. “Hey.” The voice behind her whispers. Slowly, Mori turns her head sideward to lend an ear but not to face the girl behind her. “I’m Takanashi Kiara. Nice to meet you!” Mori sees a hand reach out to her side. She thinks she should take it.

“Yeah, same.” She slowly reaches out and completes the handshake, catching a side eye of this girl behind her. “Mori Calliope, I guess…” She softly says while taking a look at the first person to greet her. She couldn’t see color yet, but based on the whiteness of her image, she guesses that this girl behind her had pretty bright hair.

“Let’s be friends!” Kiara suggests. “You probably don’t know anyone here yet right?” She asks the new girl, who shakes her head up and down to respond. It was true. 

Mori then lets go of the handshake and starts going through her bag. She pulls out her notebook and a pen to prepare for the day ahead. She places a ballpoint pen on her desk, but when she slid the notebook beside it the pen ended up being pushed and fell to the ground. 

“Oh! Let me get that!” Kiara beats Mori to grabbing the dropped item on the ground as the girl in the back row stands to grab the pen and presents it to Mori. “Here you go.” She holds it out with a smile.

“Oh, uh, thanks.” Mori reaches up and once again looks at the person deciding to reach out to her. She was quite pretty if she had to be honest. Looking at the girl’s hand, she saw her pen and reached to grab it, looking up once to meet the girl in the eyes for a second, and suddenly feeling her heart beat really fast. Out of reflex, she yoinks the pen from the other girl’s hand and breaks eye contact. Kiara recoils a little at the sudden movement. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to do that.” The new girl apologizes, looking away.

“Oh, no no, it’s fine.” Kiara waves it off. The new girl was obviously quite reserved, and it seemed like she wasn’t used to her new environment yet, so Kiara knew she had to be considerate in trying to approach her. “I look forward to our time together Mori Calliope.” Even if she couldn’t find her soulmate during her high school life, she supposed it wouldn’t hurt to make at least a new friend.

…

“Hey! Kiara! Ina!” A short girl with white hair calls for her two friends across the cafeteria grounds. This girl was one of Takanashi Kiara’s closest friends in her years studying at Hololive. Gawr Gura walks up to the two girls, looking to invite them to their usual table.

“Hey Gura.” Kiara greets her friend and classmate while holding her tray carrying her lunch. “Ina and I were just about to go over to you guys too.” She turns to see the dark-haired girl still picking which Takoyaki she wants to eat today.

“This one!” Ninomae Ina’nis selects her choice and walks up to the two other girls. While she’s doing this, the last of the four-girl friend group approaches the others.

“But that’s the one you always choose.” Amelia Watson moves up beside Ina. This time, having her coat tied around her waist. Then, the shortest of the four could be seen turning to meet her.

“Hey bozo, I thought you were watching our table?” Gura puffs out her cheeks at the taller girl. Kiara chuckles at this. Those two were inseparable after all. She watches as the two make friendly banter, as was usual with their dynamic. Amelia acts cheeky while Gura sometimes plays along and even fires back. The two looked like very close friends to most of the students, but Kiara and Ina knew something quite special about the two. “Hey, did you change your tie?” Gura asks while she reaches up and adjusts Amelia’s necktie. “What happened to your red one? You never wear blue with our uniform!” The shorter one notices the difference in color.

The two were soulmates. Kiara remembers it like it was yesterday. It was during their summer camp when the four grouped up for a room. Kiara, Ina, Amelia, and Gura all decided to sleep in the same sleeping area to be able to hang out all night. They decided to play some cards Amelia brought to entertain the group. Of course, it came with a catch. Winner got to order the loser a dare, and Amelia was feeling rather mischievous that night too.

Through sheer dumb luck, the house managed to win, and Gura was dead last. Kiara knew that both her and Ina had a feeling what was about to go down, and she suspected that the pair might’ve too. It was a simple dare, but a very momentous one. Amelia Watson dared Gawr Gura to look her straight in the eyes for six whole seconds, and, well it was obvious what ended up happening. Two sets of blue eyes found each other that night. Both opened to a new world with their sights.

“I was tired of waiting!” Amelia pouts, teasing her other half. “And I may have dropped my morning tea on my red one, so I scrambled to wear something. You happened to leave yours over at my place after all.” She winks as she goes over the colors once again.

Takanshi Kiara could only smile at the thought of two soulmates finding each other. The two had something she could only dream of after all. She didn’t hate the two for expressing their feelings for each other when in her presence. On the contrary, she was actually proud that the two could be open about their relationship in their friend group. The two were secret lovers, and they didn’t want to risk others interfering in their relationship as Gura was actually quite popular with a lot of the boys at the school. Out of all the thirds years, the shortie actually got the most requests to have others stare into her eyes, which was a higher level of confession than just asking her out as it meant wanting to find out if she was the confessor’s soulmate. They were all turned down for obvious reasons, and at best disappointed when they couldn’t see the spectrum even after a minute. She already had a bright yellow sun after all.

…

“What’s the new girl like, Kiara?” Gawr Gura asks across their lunch table. “I saw you talk to her. Do you think she’s your one?” She asks the hopeless romantic.

“You mean Mori?” Kiara asks to confirm and Gura nods to affirm it. “I don’t really know that much about her yet. I wanted to actually try and get her to eat with us today because she didn’t look like she knew anyone here.” She informs the others at the table of the conversation she had. “But she turned me down. She said she had somewhere to be.”

“Kiara’s starting to think her destined one might not even be here after all.” Ninomae Ina’nis joins the conversation. “I think two years of rejection finally got to her.” She says in between bites of her meal. “Right now, she’s just trying to make friends with the new girl.”

“If anyone can get a new girl to open up, it would definitely be Kiara here.” Amelia adds. “Just look at how we ended up. To think her first interaction with all of us was asking to stare into her eyes.” The blonde chuckles. “You were pretty desperate for a first year, weren’t you Kiara?” She teases the hopeless girl.

“And you weren’t, Watson?” Gura jabs at her soulmate. “Sure, we were second years, but that stunt was pretty risky too y’know?” She calls back to the night at the summer camp. “I don’t know how I would’ve acted if it turned out we weren’t meant to be.” The white-haired girl laughs to herself and was reciprocated by her other half.

“I was young, ok!?” Kiara tries to defend herself. “I’ve learned to hold back…” She tells the truth. She actually has been slowing down in her advances. “Maybe college will be my time…” She wonders, close to having her hopes defeated.

“Don’t worry too much Kiara.” Ina tries to comfort the girl. “Black and white still isn’t that bad. I still draw with it after all.” The artist references her work. It was true. Although Ina would probably benefit a lot from learning to use color, her style was still quite impressive even with just her pencil sketches. “Even if Mori isn’t your one, I’d still love to have her with us. Five sounds like fun.”

“Speaking of which.” Amelia cuts in and points across the cafeteria. He others turn to look at where she’s pointing. “That’s her, right? With the pink hair and everything?” She manages to see the new girl with the bright hair. As much as Ina would like to say otherwise, being able to differentiate hues definitely did make some things in life easier.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Gura also sees the head of bright pink. “Oh, she’s looking at us!” Kiara turns to also see the new girl seemingly looking at their table from a distance. “I think she’s looking at you, Kiara.” She was right, Mori Calliope was definitely giving her a look.

“Hey!” Takanashi Kiara waves at the girl from afar, which causes Mori Calliope to realize that she’s been staring. The transferee then turns away to look another direction and then walk out the door outside the cafeteria building. “Oh, wait!” And she was gone. Kiara lowers her hand in slight disappointment.

“Why don’t you go after her?” Ina asks. “It’s obvious she wanted to talk to you.” She addresses Kiara. “Go get her. She’s probably just a little shy to try and approach all of us.”

“I think Ina’s right with this one.” Amelia adds to what the dark-haired girl said. “She looked like she was holding a paper bag too. Maybe she wanted to go with you after all?” The most observant of the four mentions.

“I’d love to get to know her too.” Gura adds to the consensus. “Do what you do best, champ.” She eyes Kiara, who feels the support of her friends behind her. 

“Yeah!” Kiara stands up from her seat. “I’ll make that girl one of us or so help me!” She starts to walk towards where Mori went, leaving the other three behind.

…

“Of course, she already has friends.” A voice quietly grumbles to herself on one of the benches scattered across the school grounds. “She was just being nice to you.” The girl speaking slumps on the chair, tilting her head towards the sky. Its painting of different greys and whites unchanging and unmagnificent. “No way she’d be the one when she’s as popular as them.” She recalls seeing the other girls the one she knew were with. Even in her limited time in the school, Mori Calliope knew what kind of looks the popular ones always get in these places. She wasn’t the only one staring at the table, and she knew this. Then, she places a hand on her chest and feels her heart. “That look didn’t mean anything…” But was also interrupted by a voice calling her.

“Hey!” Mori Calliope turns her head to catch a glimpse of a particular figure headed towards her. The black and white outline belonged to that of one Takanashi Kiara. The very same girl the new student was mulling over in her mind just now. The girl who first talked to her could be seen walking towards Mori, and then eventually standing in front of her.

“Hey…” Mori greets her back, looking at the ground rather than up at Kiara. Huh, she wears sport shoes. That’s cute. “I thought you were with your friends?” The new girl asks.

“Yeah, but you looked like you wanted to say something too.” Kiara tells the new girl. “Where even were you until now? You said you had somewhere to be?” The third-year girl then softens her voice and turns around to sit beside Mori. “You can talk to me, you know?”

“Sure.” Mori turns her head away. She thought that response would be enough until she could physically feel the awkward silence indicating that the other girl was waiting for an answer. “I was… uh…” The new student quickly glances at the other girl and sees her patiently waiting. “I was… practicing my singing.” She admits.

“Oh!” Kiara mouthed in genuine surprise. “Yeah, you did say you sing. I actually sing too. What songs do you usually do?” The more open girl makes conversation.

“I…” Mori waits for another few seconds to see if Kiara’s actually still interested, which she was. “I rap.” She tells her.

“Wow, that’s cool.” Kiara giggles, causing Mori to feel something warm rise inside her. “I don’t think we actually have that many who say they can rap here.” She moves slightly closer on the bench, causing Mori’s heartbeat to quicken for an unknown reason. “You’re pretty cool for a girl, huh?” Kiara smiles, speaking genuine thoughts.

“That’s…” Mori doesn’t believe it. The new girl takes a moment to breathe in and voice what she has to say. “You’re just being kind to me… You don’t have to waste your time with a new girl like me when you already have your friends. I’m just a nobody.” Her doubts now plain to see.

“Hey!” Takanshi Kiara grabs Mori Calliope’s hand. She didn’t know why, but she felt she just had to prove this new girl wrong. The new girl jumped a bit in her seat at the sudden contact. “Look at me when I say this!” Kiara asserts herself which Mori begrudgingly follows. “I’m not doing this because I feel bad for you or anything. I genuinely just want to make you feel comfortable with us.” Kiara didn’t know why she felt so insistent on saying this, but her rapid heartbeat was definitely giving her the adrenaline she needed to stare this girl in the eyes while telling her how she feels. “You don’t have to feel left out just because you didn’t spend the last two years with us.”

Mori Calliope didn’t know why her heart beat so fast with this girl, but for some reason she could feel the truth in her words. “You think so?” She asks and Kiara nods. Her eyes were rather pretty now that Mori could actually look at them. She felt comfortable around this girl. “Are you really willing to waste your time on someone like me?” She chuckles a little at her self-deprecation. Maybe it was her rapidly beating heart, but Mori genuinely felt happy with this girl staring her down.

“I know so.” Kiara smiles as she speaks the truth straight into Mori’s eyes. “And you aren’t a waste of time. You’re-” Whatever she wanted to say next was cut off, because a certain timer has been met. Just like that, six seconds have passed since these two locked eyes. An overwhelming surge of the senses assaulted the two as flashes of light they could never comprehend appear in their vision. Kiara sees Mori Calliope for what she is. Her hair was bright and had this peachy hue that makes you feel soft inside. Her eyes were slightly darker and deep. It looked like how Amelia and Gura always described whatever “red” was, but Mori’s was lighter.

The same happens for Mori Calliope. Her heart pumped and then she could also see. The sky behind the girl turning a soft blanket of a color that makes you feel like a kid again. The clouds were still white but the sky behind it was something cerulean. Then, there was Takanashi Kiara. She knew the girl had to have bright hair, but now she could see exactly how bright. Her hair was radiant. It was a color of warmth and the sun. Flowing and majestic, complimented by traces of another color that had a similar hue to the sky. Meanwhile, her eyes were of a different shade entirely. A deep yet sparkling crimson-like color. It almost looked like they had sparkles in them. Was this what people say happened when they meet their soulmate?

“Woah.” Mori Calliope recoils back a bit and so does Takanashi Kiara. “D-do you see this too?” She asks while turning her head to gaze at their surroundings, now filled with verdant trees and shimmering whites.

“Uhhhhh” Kiara pauses for a moment as it takes her brain a second to realize exactly what just happened. “WAIT!” She makes the connection. Standing up, she looks around. There were students walking in colored uniforms. The plants and trees were vibrant and swayed underneath a bright sky. The sun caused the stones and marble to shine and shimmer. She could see color. “It’s you!” She turns to meet Mori Calliope’s eyes. “I thought I’d never meet them here! I tried to find you for two whole years, but you just weren’t actually here until now!” She grabs the new girl’s hands and pulls her up.

“Guh!” Mori stumbles a little in being pulled up. “Wait.” She balances herself. “You’re…” She stares at Takanshi Kiara. “You’re my soulmate?” She asks, feeling a slight warmth spreading across her cheeks. “That’s what this is, right?” She once again takes a look around her, marveling at the colors.

“Yeah!” Kiara moves forward and tightly hugs the new girl. “I can’t believe I actually met you! I’ve been waiting so long I thought I had to give up by now.” Mori shakes a bit in the embrace.

“I- uh- hey.” The pink-haired girl stutters. “Hey!” She breaks free of the hug. “At least say when you’re gonna do stuff like that okay?” Mori backs away in slightly awkward tsun fashion.

“Oh, uh, oops.” Kiara giggles. “Sorry, Calli. I guess I couldn’t help myself.” The orange-haired girl winks once while tilting her head. A cute gesture while also calling the new girl by a nickname.

“C-Calli?” Mori Calliope’s heart skips a beat when Kiara said this.

“What? You don’t like it?” Kiara frowns a little.

“It’s not that! I’m just-” Mori fumbles around for a bit with her hands in the air trying to reassure the cheeky Kiara. “I’m just… not used to someone calling me by that.” She admits.

“Hehe, of course Calli~” Kiara laughs it off.

Takanshi Kiara was always told the moment she’d meet her soulmate would be magical. As a young girl, she always imagined it like a scene in a movie. Time would slow, their hearts would stop, and fireworks would go off the moment it happened. At least, she didn’t expect how normal it would actually be. Sure, seeing color for the first time was magical, that much it true. But the moment she realized she was destined to be with Mori Calliope, she was just happy. She waited so long for the sparks to fly, but it ended up happening when she just wanted to help a new girl out. You could never tell with matters of fate like these how things would go anyway.

“I’m looking forward to our time together, Mori Calliope.” Kiara gives her soulmate a colorful smile.

“Y-yeah, me too.” And Mori also looks forward to spending her time with the girl who just wouldn’t let up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, funny story:  
> I was actually planning to finish and publish this one-shot yesterday, but then Mori Calliope's endurance stream happened.  
>  _ **I didn't expect to watch it all the way through...**_  
>  A congratulations to our most loved reaper who just reached 1 million subscribers.  
> Much love from the Dead Beats~


	3. Patiently Waiting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mori Calliope has only just recently moved to Japan.  
> She’s heard of the “Hololive” steamer group and its steadily growing popularity.  
> So, she applies for their new English branch’s audition.  
> Only, she gets a bit nervous when it’s nearing her turn.  
> While waiting for an unusually long time, another girl makes conversation with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I suggest you all have your headphones ready for this one ;)

“Cover Corp.” A voice speaks as she reads the name of the company based in the building she gazes up at. “They definitely look the part.” The woman with long pink hair slightly moved by the wind says to herself as she covers her eyes to block the sunlight reflecting off the tall corporate structure’s exterior. “Time to see what the hype’s all about.” She says as she enters through the front door and prepares to face the day ahead of her.

Mori Calliope didn’t think of herself as particularly special. She thought of herself as someone just like any other girl you’d find living in a big city. Only, she wasn’t oblivious enough to be unable to recognize that she had a few special talents. She entered the building with that thought in mind, for she was someone willing to try new things.

“Excuse me.” She says to the woman behind the reception desk located at the ground floor. “I’m here for the audition at 9.” Mori tells the other woman, who wore black-rimmed glasses that emphasized her deep red eyes. “For the English talents. I was wondering which floor it was supposed to be on.” She converses with the black-haired receptionist, who gives her an answer as it was her job.

“7th floor.” She says, straight and to the point. “Elevators are on the first hall to your right.” The receptionist, without even looking up to make eye contact, points a thumb towards the direction indicated. “You’re half an hour early. You can wait in the seating area in the hall outside the audition room.” The woman takes a sip from a cup of coffee, sounding like she’s given these directions already.

“Oh, thank you.” Mori thanks the receptionist, who only gives her a single nod. “I appreciate the help...” She eyes the woman’s nametag. “Enma.” The pink-haired girl reads the name written above the ‘Hololive Staff’ nametag.

“You’re welcome.” Enma replies. “There’s already been three before you. The other girls should be waiting there, too.” She informs Mori. “Good luck.” She looks up and actually looks Mori in the eye while giving a very slight smile.

Mori Calliope silently nods in response. Then, she proceeded to walk towards the right and into the first hallway where she pressed a couple buttons on the elevator’s control panel to request a lift up. After that, about a minute’s time passes as she watches the digital interface countdown in lowering numbers to tell her that the elevator was making its way down. As the number got closer and closer to the ground floor, the audible mechanism of the lift became more and more clear, and then stopped as a ding sounded the device’s halted descent. The sliding door automatically opens and the girl preparing to audition for a streaming job makes her way in.

…

The walk to the waiting area wasn’t very long. Mori Calliope made a quick stride and immediately saw the seats that Enma told her about. She also saw the three girls said to be waiting there already. Two of them looked to be closing their eyes and quietly reciting something that was probably what they rehearsed to say during the interview part. However, a quick glance also told Mori that the girls with blonde and white hair were sneakily holding each other’s hands to probably calm each other down. The last of the three was a dark-haired girl who looks up and gives the newest arrival a wave. She had a notebook on her lap and seemed a lot calmer than the other two. Seeing one free seat to the dark-haired girl’s right, Mori sits down and gives the other girl a smile.

“Hey. I’m Ina.” The girl with dark hair tells the new arrival her name. “You’re here for the audition too?” She makes small talk, even though it was highly unlikely for the new girl to be here for anything else.

“Yeah.” But Mori gives her an answer anyway. “I’m Mori.” The pink-haired girl says. “Mori Calliope.” She extends a hand for Ina to shake, which she does.

“Nice to meet you, Mori Calliope.” Ina greets the new girl and then releases the handshake after a few seconds. “My full name’s actually Ninomae Ina’nis, but you can call me Ina since it’s easier.” She gives a cute smile. “And these two are Gawr Gura and Amelia Watson.” Ina turns her head to her left to point at the short girl with white hair and the slightly taller one with blonde hair.

“Hi…” Mori leans forward a bit to try and make eye contact while waving her right hand to greet the two. Although, it looked like Gura and Amelia were still focused on their concentration. “…Nice to meet you too.” She leans back into the backrest. “They’re really focused, huh?” Mori turns to Ina as the only source of conversation.

“They are.” Ina chuckles softly. “It’s sweet. Two soulmates being there for each other.” That last sentence causing Mori’s eyebrows to raise. “Oh yeah, oops.” The dark-haired girl laughs silently. “I guess they did tell me to keep that quiet. It was the _SOUL_ thing they told me not to say out loud.”

“…” Mori Calliope didn’t know if she was still caught on the fact that Ina revealed two people being soulmates right there in front of or if she was processing the pun the dark-haired girl just told. “Huh…” She lets out, not really having anything to say.

“Gotta work on that one… humu humu…” Ina rubs her chin while mumbling silently to herself. “Sorry about that! I get a little punny sometimes.” She winks. “It’s my dream to fill the world with pun-loving takodachis. I call it: World Dom-INA-tion!” Ina says as she raises both hands to mimic a certain yellow sea sponge from a famous cartoon.

“Pfft…” Okay, Mori may have liked that one. “Nice one, Ina.” She chuckles, then looks up at the clock on the wall telling them that it’ll still be another 25 minutes before they start auditions. “I guess we’ll have to wait.” She once again eyes the two girls repeating their lines. “Are you nervous?” She asks Ina.

“Slightly.” The dark-haired girl tells her. “I think it’s normal to be all nervous before you go do stuff like this. Personally, I like to stay calm.” Ina tells Mori. “It’s just the kind of mindset I like to get myself in before I do stuff. How about you?” She repeats the question to Mori.

“Oh.” The other girl was caught slightly in surprise. “Well, I guess I haven’t really thought about it.” Mori tells an honest answer. “I’ve been pretty confident in my skills, so I’m not overly afraid.” She admits.

“That’s good too.” Ina replies. “It’s nice to be able to trust your skills.” Then she turns to look at the other two. “I guess they trust each other enough to help each other out.” Gura and Amelia were still deep in practice. “Has time ever stopped for you, Mori?” Ina asks the pink-haired girl.

“Time? Stopped?” Mori tilts her head. “Is this some pun I’m not getting?” She asks.

“No, not this time.” Ina confirms. “I mean like with your soulmate. What they say happens when you meet them?” She asks.

“You believe in those?” Mori raises an eyebrow. “I’ve always thought that was the kind of stuff you tell each other when you’re in high school.” The taller girl crosses her arms.

“Well, apparently it happened to these two.” The two girls look at the others. “Apparently it was their first year in university. The two entered class and freaked out that no one other than them was moving.” Ina tells what she heard. “I don’t see why they would lie. I haven’t met mine yet and I’m not too opposed to believing that soulmates exist.” She voices her take.

“Huh, that’s neat.” Mori blurts out. “I’ve never really believed in that kind of stuff, though. It’s something I’d have to see myself because it just doesn’t sound right with me.” It was true. Mori Calliope was never one to dedicate a lot of time to thinking about stuff like love or soulmates. “Not that I’m against you believing them. I don’t mean to berate you or anything, Ina. You seem nice enough.” She clarifies.

“No offense taken.” Ina waves it off. 

The two didn’t really have a conversation that went anywhere. They talked about mundane things to pass the time. Mori learned that Ina was an artist and wanted to audition to get a chance to inspire other artists to improve their skills alongside her. Things kept going for twenty or so minutes until a man walks out of the audition room at the tick of the clock.

“Is Gawr Gura here?” A normal looking Japanese man says as he opens the door from inside the audition room. “We’re gonna be starting now.” He looks to all the girls seated at the waiting area. “Hmm, looks like we’re still short on one…” He rubs his chin. “Thankfully she didn’t end up first.” He mumbles, while Gura and Amelia are snapped out of their combined trance.

“Oh, yes sir!” The short girl in a blue hoodie stands to attention. “I’m Gawr Gura, and I’m ready for my audition!” She postures herself in front of the man, looking to impress him from the start. “Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Tanigou!” She bows in the traditional Japanese way.

“Go get ‘em Gura!” The one known as Amelia could be seen patting her soulmate on the back. “Show ‘em your shark face!” She says as Gura straightens her back and puts on a look of confidence.

“Then it looks like you’re ready.” Mr. Tanigou says as he moves to the side a little to give way for Gura. “And please, you can call me Yagoo. It’s what all the girls decide to call me anyway.” He says as the shortie walks forward and into the room. Yagoo gives the other girls one last look before going in himself. “I wish to see all of you make it big in Hololive.” He tells the other three. “I know it didn’t end up being exactly what I wanted for my dream…” He tells a tale the girls are familiar with. “Yet, I’m proud of my girls either way. We could truly make the world a happier place.” He says as his parting words, and then goes in.

The three other aspiring idols all share a look, for they all knew what the head man was referring to. Hololive was meant to be a revolutionary tale to change the entire idol industry of Japan. Yagoo was a dreamer who had the idea to have idols perform in livestreams, allowing for fans all over the country and even across the ocean to view concerts and performances without having to deal with the hassle of tickets and physical venues. The streamers would dress up and act out their online personas and would sometimes do regular stream content to appease the untapped market of livestreaming idols. Only, the plan wasn’t exactly what ended up being followed. It turned out most of the fans who tuned-in actually preferred the girls when they just did normal streamer things. After noticing the attention, the girls ended up developing their improvisational skills and worked to entertain a live audience. It turned out they were very good at it, and then Hololive slowly shifted to a more livestream focused experience that got multiple generations of Japanese talent, some other foreign branches, and has now reached out to hire English talents.

“So…” Amelia Watson breaks the silence. “Inaaaaa…” She extends the last syllable as her head slowly starts turning rightwards to eye the dark-haired girl. “I think you have some explaining to do…” The blonde closes her eyes and gives the other girl only a threatening smile.

“Yab…” Ina gulps, and Mori chuckles.

…

Mori Calliope watches the clock hands mechanically turn as the minutes turn into an hour. The interview with the girl named Gawr Gura seemingly went well. Each interview lasted around half and hour or so, and when the shortie left the room, she had a smug smile plastered on her face which caused Amelia to stand up and give the shorter girl a bear hug that nearly suffocated her in Watson’s trademark “floaties”. Mori watched as the sweet moment was short-lived as Amelia Watson turned out to be the one to be called next. Mori and Ina spent their time waiting chatting with the just hired Gura. The white-haired girl held off on telling them exactly what the interview questions were for contractual reasons, but Mori and Ina found an immediate friendship with the fun girl. 

Another half hour passed and then Amelia Watson was seen exiting the interview with a sullen look. Immediately, Gura went up to look like she was going to comfort the girl, but the two grinning smug looks at each other made Mori stop from standing up to support Amelia. The two were close-knit, and even the not as social Mori knew that their looks meant that they knew exactly what had transpired in Amelia’s interview. The two soulmates exchanged laughs and ended up chatting a bit with Ina and Mori. The two decided they were going to leave the building to get some food together and said their goodbyes to the two other girls still waiting to audition. After that, a minute passed and then it was Ina’s turn.

…

Mori Calliope watched as the clock’s minute hand made another half rotation. It seemed Ina’s interview took just as long as Gura’s and Amelia’s. Earlier, she said that she wasn’t really nervous, but now that the clock was ticking and her turn was slowly approaching, her heart started to beat faster and faster. What if she wasn’t prepared enough? What if she won’t be able to answer a question because she didn’t rehearse her lines like the other two did? What if Yagoo didn’t want someone like her to be part of Hololive? What if she just wasn’t good enough? Her heart beat fast enough that she could physically feel her blood moving through her body. In the silence of the hall, she could hear each pump and contraction that told of her worries. If the sudden distraction of hearing another person’s footsteps echo across the floor, maybe she would’ve burst right there and failed to try and talk when Ina’s turn eventually ended.

“Waaaaaiiiiit!” Another girl’s voice echoed across Cover Corp’s 7th floor. “I can still audition! I made it!” Mori turned to look at the girl that was probably the one that Yagoo mentioned wasn’t here yet. The nervous girl noted the late one’s bright orange hair that was mixed with teal bits, magenta eyes that looked like they almost sparkled in the lighting, and two hats? Wait, she counted two, right? “I… made… it…” The girl pants as she stops in front of Mori Calliope. “Did- Did I… make it in time?” She manages to ask in between breaths as she barely stays standing while lowering her head.

“Oh.” Mori realizes that this girl was probably waiting on her to answer. “Yeah, I think.” She says as she looks at the clock and reads 10:20 am. “They’re probably finishing up on Ina and then I go next.” She informs the panting girl. “You should probably take a seat. You look like you ran all the way here.” She suggests as she takes another look at the girl still out of breath.

“Yeah, you’re right on that one…” The orange-haired girl lifts her head to meet Mori Calliope in the eyes. They were pretty eyes. “I’m beat…” She turns and then sits down to Mori’s left, causing the nervous girl to mentally jump a little though she couldn’t think why.

“Hey, at least you made it.” Mori Calliope strikes up a conversation. She couldn’t say why, but something about this girl made her want to forget all about the audition and just relax. “It’s better than not showing up.” Although, she could still feel her heart beating from anticipation awaiting her turn.

“Yeah, I guess so.” The late girl says, more composed. It looked like she managed to finally catch her breath. “It’s quite ironic.” She begins to tell an anecdote. “I actually stayed up late practicing my lines, and then I ended up sleeping in and barely having any time to prepare. I’m not sure I even remember what I rehearsed.” She tells Mori.

“Oh, wow…” Mori lets out. “Huh, I guess I really should’ve prepared for this too.” She leans back on her chair and looks at the clock, not noticing that the hand telling seconds passing has actually stopped. “I came into this thinking I could just go with what I know. But now everyone else seems to have prepared themselves for everything and I’m just here, waiting my turn without having practiced a single response…” She didn’t know why, but she felt comfortable opening up to this stranger.

“Confidence is nice too.” The stranger tells her. “I think it’s one of the best things someone can have when facing their hurdles in life.” She gives Mori a smile. “It’s why I still believe I can handle this even when I’ve forgotten what I’ve rehearsed.” She giggles at her own shortcoming, Mori chuckling slightly in response.

“If only I could say I’m actually confident in myself.” Mori looks away for a moment. “I thought I’d be fine just going with the flow. Now that I’m here, I’m not sure if I even deserve the same opportunities as you.” She continues to open up to this stranger.

“Hey, don’t beat yourself up like that!” Mori sees the stranger stand in her view, having stood up from her seat to meet the doubter where she’s facing. “You decided to be here, just like me, and that proves something too.” The orange-haired girl gives her supportive words. “That counts for something. I know it does.” It seemed this stranger was willing to be confident for the both of them.

“That won’t stop me from thinking I’m the worst one here, though.” Mori voices her thoughts. Why was she so comfortable just saying these things again? She lowers her head to stare at the floor.

“Now that’s just rude!” But the stranger once again attracts her gaze. “That’s rude to yourself because you managed to get this far! You have to believe in your own capabilities first before comparing it to others.” She gives a lecture. “It’s unfair to both you and them. I know I don’t know exactly what you can do, but I’m willing to bet it’s something pretty great!” The stranger puts both hands on her hips. “Wanna tell me?” She asks.

“I guess it wouldn’t hurt.” Maybe it was the nervousness, or maybe there was just something about this girl, but Mori felt like she could truly talk about anything with this stranger beside her. “I rap. I write my own songs and stuff. Nothing too great. I just thought maybe I could develop my skills here.” She tells the stranger.

“Now, that’s cool!” The stranger leans forward, looking Mori straight in the eyes. “I don’t know much about rap, but I know it takes some skill to master its style.” She leans back to straighten herself. “You’re already better than me. I’ve wanted to write my own song for a while and I’ve never gotten to doing it. You’re a pretty cool for a girl, you know?” She smiles which causes something to rise inside Mori.

“I’m not that cool.” Mori tries to deny it.

The two went on like this for a while. Just talking. Neither of which really going anywhere. Mori Calliope ended up telling this stranger her story. How she worked a hard job just so she could save enough money in order to buy the cheapest flight to Japan in order to hear her favorite bands live. The orange-haired girl seemed to be very interested in it.

“It wasn’t the best reasoning to fly to another country, I know.” Mori continues. “It was more of something I just personally wanted to do with my life. I’ve always liked the music scene here in Japan, and I think I wanna do something with my own work while I’m here.” She tells the stranger.

“Yeah, that’s pretty cool.” The girl with magenta eyes tells her. “I like to sing too, actually. I haven’t written any of my own songs yet, but karaoke’s one of my favorite things to do while I’m here. I’m actually from Australia if you’d believe me. I moved here a few years ago and now I’m enjoying my stay.” The stranger tells Mori.

“Neat.” Mori says. Then, she looks towards the audition room and sees that the silhouettes of Ina on the blinds still depicted her sitting down and answering some questions. “Hers seems like it’s going on really long, huh?”

“What do you mean?” The stranger also looks to the audition room.

“The first two lasted half an hour each, but Ina’s been there for almost an hour now.” Mori pulls out her phone. The device was wrapped with a pink protective cover that had a cute skull with glasses on the center. Pressing on the power button, Mori attempts to turn it on. “Huh, I could’ve sworn I charged this…” She mumbles to herself as the device won’t power on.

“Your phone died?” The stranger leans forward to see. “Wanna use mine? We could listen to some songs to pass the time!” She suggests while pulling her own device but with an orange cover instead. “Oh, come on! Did it die on me when I woke up?” It seemed hers was also a dud.

“Bad luck huh.” Mori chuckles a bit. “Let’s hope that isn’t a sign for what’s to come with our auditions.” Now that the conversation seemed to be dying down, the nervousness was slowly coming to creep back into Mori Calliope. Her heart beat faster once more.

“You seem nervous.” The stranger manages to read her expression. “You still don’t believe you’re capable of doing it?” She asks, and Mori gives a defeated nod. “Hmph.” The orange-haired girl pouts, until her face composes itself and she gets an idea. “Psst!” She signals for Mori to lean closer for a whisper, which she does. “…”

“What? Right here?” Mori pulls back after hearing what the other girl suggested. “Are you sure about this?” Mori tries to make her reconsider, but the stranger was very insistent with her nodding. “Well, I guess if I can’t do it here then I won’t be able to do it with an audience.”

“Yeah, that’s the spirit!” The stranger cheers her on. “And if you want, we can…” She whispers once again into Mori’s ear. “You know that one, yeah?” She asks and Mori says that she does. “Great! Then we’ll do it together then. I’ll start!” The stranger stands up from her seat to move farther away from the audition room and begins to prepare something to say.

https://youtu.be/pXD4BbYludc

_“Mitsukeyou sekai o kimi de aru akashi o”  
(Discover the world, the confirmation of yourself)  
“omoi ga keshiki o someru-”  
(The desire coloring the landscape)  
“get your world, get your world!”_

The stranger starts off with her part of a song. It seemed her idea to relieve Mori of her nervousness was to sing something together. Mori Calliope had to admit, she definitely sounded like she could sing. Maybe this won’t be such a bad idea after all. So, she also stands up and walks to meet the orange-haired girl.

_“Wah Wah World~  
Make some noise, make some noise!”_

They both sing in sync and Mori Calliope also joins the girl in her singing, adding her own style to the song. Yeah, she could get into this. So, the two quietly hold their performance to no one while waiting for time to pass. They alternate their lines and the two sing in harmony.

_“Akogare o oi sugite "kimi" o miushinawanaide”  
(Don’t lose yourself, by chasing what you long for too hard)  
“Nayamuya muya muya suru identity”  
(Worry worry fuzzy fuzzy gloomy gloomy your identity)  
“I wanna change change change my tofu mentality!”_

The two alternate their lines as if they’ve already done this dance a hundred times before. Mori Calliope and this stranger she just met bounce off each other with their two unique sides of their performance. The orange-haired girl sang light and cute while Mori showed her vocal tenacity in her rap. They worked well together. It was almost as if the two were fated to meet and be together.

_“Jibunrashiku play on dekiru basho ga”  
(There’s a place, to play on being myself)  
“Dare ni mo hitotsu dake aru no saa issho ni”  
(Everyone has their own place, let’s find it together)_

Mori Calliope couldn’t say why exactly she was so into spontaneously singing a song with stranger. They only just met and barely know anything about each other, other than their reasonings and motivation to join Hololive. Sure, the girl was friendly, and Mori wasn’t really someone to turn down being approached socially. She was introverted but didn’t think she was a shy person. She watches as the stranger sings and does a little dance for nobody else but herself. They were alone outside the audition room, but this girl looked like she’s already putting on her best performance. She was kind of pretty while doing it too, though that was Mori’s inner thoughts that she wouldn’t dare voice out loud.

_“Kurai kaaten o aketa asa no you na”  
(The moment when you are wrapped with brand new shine)  
“maatarashii hikari ni tsutsumareta shunkan”  
(Just like the morning when you open the gloomy curtains)_

She had to admit, this girl’s confidence and energy was starting to affect her. Yeah, what’s wrong with facing life head on with confidence on your shoulders? This stranger she just met could do it. Why couldn’t she also do it too? Maybe she did deserve to be there too.

_“Unaru 808 watashi o update”  
(Growling 808 will make myself updated)  
“shitai koto ni straight, Calliope world”  
(True to what you want straight up, Calliope world)  
“iki na flow” (chic flow)  
“Jack Sparrow” (yeah)  
“raimu no umi rizumu notte jiyuu motome susumu repezen”  
(Riding with rhythm the sea of rhyme, representing the freedom to move on)  
"…ni naritai na"  
(“I wanna be…”)_

Mori Calliope lets it all out. Her skill that she developed after years of listening and studying the art. She let her talents be heard by this random girl she met before an audition. Ina could finish her audition at any moment, and she could be called in to go next, but none of those thoughts crossed her mind for now because all she wanted to do right now was show this stranger that she actually did deserve to stand on the same ground as all the others. She had her own skills, and this stranger had hers.

_"Seeno" (“Ready? go!”)_

She could do this.

_“Mitsukeyou sekai o kimi de aru akashi o”  
(Discover the world confirmation of yourself)  
“omoi ga keshiki o someru-”  
(The desire coloring the landscape)  
“Get your world, get your world!”  
“fav no ansemu ga machi ni kodamasu toki”  
(If you hear the fav anthem echoing around the town)  
“dokidoki no beat kasane brand new street arukidasou”  
(Repeat pounding beat, let’s set off on foot on a brand-new street)_

She’ll go in there and show the main man that she deserved to be hired. It’s the least she could do for this stranger’s support of her talents.

_“Ryoute o age boruteeji age”  
(Raise your hand, raise the volts)  
“sakebe one and two and three”  
(Shout one and two and three)  
“Wah Wah World!!”_

And as the two finish together on the song’s title, a door could be heard opening a few meters away and the ticking of the clock on the wall could be heard echoing across the hall. “Mori Calliope. You’re next.” Yagoo’s voice could be heard calling out to the pink-haired girl.

“Hey Mori!” Ina gives the two girls a wave after exiting the door. “Oh, looks like you already met the last one.” She walks up to greet the stranger. “Nice to meet you. I’m Ninomae Ina’nis, but you can call me Ina for short.”

“Hi!” The orange-haired girl walks up to shake Ina’s hand. “I’m Takanashi Kiara!” Mori Calliope hears the stranger’s name for the first time. Takanashi Kiara. What a pretty name. “Sorry if I was late Mr. Tanigou…” She bows her head to Cover Corp’s CEO, who politely waves it off.

“Say, Ina.” Mori walks up to her other most recent friend. “You sure took a while. Gura and Amelia only took half as long as you.” She looks up to the clock on the wall and… wait…

The clock hands never moved from when Mori last saw them at. The hand telling the seconds passing was moving but the minute and hour hands haven’t budged a bit. In her pocket, Mori could feel her phone for some reason power on and make the on and off ticks almost as if the power button was being pressed multiple times without her touching it. A fidgeting sound behind her also told her that Kiara’s was acting the same.

“What do you mean?” Ina tilts her head. “I only took half an hour, just like the other two.” She also looks up to eye the clock. “Wait a second…” Ina lowers her head and gives Mori a smug look. “I think you might’ve met someone quite special today Mori.” She chuckles, leaving Mori Calliope in a confused daze.

“Huh, is it me or did time just stop for the both of us?” Mori could hear Kiara ask from beside her. “I’ve heard it can happen to two people sometimes from my classmates when I was still at school. But, I dunno. I don't remember what they said it meant. Maybe I just read my clock wrong when I slept in.” The orange-haired girl fidgets in her stance.

“I…” Mori turns her head to look at the former stranger she just met. Was Ina actually right about soulmates being real?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who read my last work and wondered if I ever planned anything for Wah Wah World...  
> I couldn't fit it with DSBMH's themes, so I decided to use it here instead.  
> I missed writing a song chapter ever since I finished it, so I decided to go wild with this one.  
> Hope you liked the song inclusion.
> 
>  _Song:_  
>  **【Kiara x Calliope】 ワーワーワールド / Wah Wah World【COVER】#TAKAMORI**  
>  Credits go to the vocaloid lyrics fandom wiki for the translation I used.  
> 


	4. Reaper Red Riding Hood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lone girl in a red hood walks down a forest path.  
> She carries with her some food meant for her teacher.  
> An immortal hiding amongst humans, looking for one thing:  
> Her soulmate, and answers to why a human could still be alive after hundreds of years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to try something a little different with this chapter's setting.  
> A retelling of a classic story, but changed to fit this pairing.  
>  **Warning: light injuries**

“Sensei.” A voice calls to her teacher inside a small cottage isolated in the middle of a forest. “I don’t understand why we have to do this.” The voice sounded like it belonged to a girl. One that concealed herself under a bright red hood. From a first look, all one could see about the girl was that she had long and flowing pink hair, but everything else was purposely hidden in shadow. “Why do we have to hide amongst the humans?” She asks a question, pulling back her hood to reveal two deep pink eyes.

“Simple, young apprentice.” A second cloaked figure answers the girl. This one was cloaked in black robes that darkened his presence even more in the lightless cottage. “You said you felt them to be in this realm, or am I mistaken?” The voice sounded male, but there was an ephemeral echo that made the black-robed figure almost sound supernatural.

“I did.” The girl answers. “They are somewhere in this land.” She turns to look at their new place of residence. The cottage looked old. She knew it was a place long abandoned by its previous inhabitants, but the rot and dust still irked the girl in ways she couldn’t describe. “We are to search for them as was allowed of my request, yet I don’t understand why I must make use of a mortal body to do so.” She sniffs the old and decrepit house and cringes from what her senses tell her. “I would prefer to not be hindered by the shortcomings of flesh.” She raises one of her arms and looks at the human hand that she now has. It twitched for a moment and a pain raced through the girl’s palm. “Their antics only get more annoying with this body.”

“Then it is as desired.” Her teacher’s voice echoes inside the cottage. “With a body of a mortal, we will be able to more easily determine the type of person this human of yours is.” He walks forward to meet his apprentice, making no sound as the dark figure produced no footsteps. “You are one of the fated, and that is an anomaly. Soon, I will be taking a form of my own to assist you.” He tells her. “We will have your answers then. For now, we must wait and be patient. Preparations are needed if we are to stay here for long.” He raises a hand, but this one not of flesh. The sleeve on the dark figure’s hood pulls back and reveals only bone where skin should be. Then, with a simple wave, small green embers were conjured out of thin air and made to light the abandoned home. “We have work to do, young Mori Calliope.” He speaks his apprentice’s name.

“Yes, Sensei.” Mori Calliope responds in almost military fashion. “I will make sure your time is not wasted on me from this foolish request.” The girl lowers her head and kneels in front of her master.

It was a strange thing, for a reaper to be one of the fated. Mori Calliope was an immortal guardian of death yet was somehow destined to have a special someone. Her teacher knew of this and was able to grant the girl’s request to find and meet this special human. Lord Death wasn’t normally someone so willing to go on these trivial quests, so the apprentice knew the value of her mission. She’d find this human, get her answers, and then leave. She didn’t plan on loving a mortal anyway. A reaper has no reason to feel love. At least, that’s what she kept telling herself.

…

Mori Calliope walked the path from the nearby village back to their small cottage in the forest of the Live Hollow. Her red hood flowed with the wind as she steadily made her way down the forest path. She’d just recently acquired supplies from the humans living in the village. At first, the humans were hesitant to answer the cold and mysterious stranger, but after lowering her hood and attempting to commune with the mortals, Mori Calliope managed to convince them that she meant no harm and passed by claiming that she was a simple traveler casting her shadow on the roads. She needed food to sustain her human body after all. It was one of the annoyances of using a mortal shell. She also needed sleep and rest, which were added annoyances that the once immortal now had to deal with as it made her days shorter than they would be if she was in her immortal form. This was how it would be for the reaper for the next month in the human world. After receiving permission from Lord Death to search the mortal world for the human destined to be her soulmate, she lived every day walking and wandering, going to nearby human settlements. Sometimes she would stay a day in their villages, and sometimes she would spend entire weeks without coming back to the cottage. The days turned into months and she still couldn’t find any trace of the person that was meant to be hers. She was getting impatient. Even for a timeless entity, having to deal with a human body’s requirements to be sustained started to irk the reaper. She wanted to meet this stranger soon.

“Ack…” The hooded girl grunts as she feels a slash at her cheek. “What are they up to now?” She asks out loud as she instinctively raises a hand at the source of pain but finds no blood or even a cut. This became a regular occurrence. The reason she even found out she had a soulmate was because she would randomly experience pain when nothing should be able to inflict it on her as a reaper.

It all started about a thousand years ago. Mori Calliope was a young reaper in training serving under Lord Death as a candidate for his next apprentice. After beating her competition, the young reaper had asked her mentor why she would randomly feel pain from time to time. This revelation surprised the lord of the underworld upon being told. For it was very unusual for a reaper to have a fated soul. What was even stranger was when the pain never stopped even after hundreds of years. If Mori really was fated to be with a human, then she would’ve already outlived them by several lifespans during her service. But the strangest part was what happened to her around a year ago, which caused her to even begin this search in the first place.

“How are you even alive?” It was a normal day of sending souls to their afterlife when Mori Calliope felt it. “Who even are you?” She was used to the random cuts, blunt blows, and slashes she felt across her body. Being a reaper, an immortal being, she never truly felt the full pain these would normally inflict on a mortal. Yet, when she suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of dread spread across her whole body, she immediately knew. Her soulmate had died. “Where are you?” She was informed that soulmates could feel each other’s pain. She knew this occurred until one or the other would die. Mori Calliope knew of death. She worked under the literal manifestation of it after all, but nothing prepared her for the sense of sorrow and hopelessness that one moment gave her. “Why do you make me feel such things?” She never felt emotion, or at least believed she didn’t. She never had to be harmed either, so she suspected that her soulmate was never bothered by the same troubles she felt.

After she felt her destined one die, she stood silently in the underworld for a moment. At first, she thought that would be the end of it. She didn’t need to wonder anymore who it could’ve been. She could proceed with her duties as was needed of her. No more asking why a human was able to be alive for hundreds of years. Yet, after about a month in mortal time, she felt it again.

“Aaah!” A piercing in her shoulder, just like that one. “Tsk…” Mori Calliope steeled herself and proceeded to walk forward as the sun sets below the horizon. She was still getting used to feeling the full pain her human body now gave her. It was her master’s idea. Giving her a human body would allow her to feel the pain in more detail. A morbid solution, but one the underworld’s master felt necessary to answering their questions. With human bodies, they could ask questions without the humans running away. It also allowed for Mori to have a better sense of what exactly her fated could be doing, which she figured was lots of fighting.

Whoever her soulmate was, they were still alive. It was already strange for a reaper to be fated, but to know her fated had died and then felt her pain still after that? It was downright unheard of. The pink-haired apprentice quietly felt for a year. She wanted to make sure that they were still alive, and the occasional pain from what she presumed to be fighting assaulted her form. She consulted her teacher, Lord Death. Through her explanation, she was allowed to search for this person in the mortal realm, for it was something even the ruler of the underworld had not seen. An anomaly found in an enigma. So, she and her teacher decided to search the human world, hoping to answer the questions both have. Mori wanted to find this person, then she would ask them exactly who they were.

…

Thieves. Vagabonds that hide in the shadows. Humans who pulled the short straw in life as well as truly crooked individuals who turned to nefarious means to do their deeds. These were the two people a hooded stranger was currently doing battle with on the outskirts of a medieval village.

“You will give that back!” A woman’s voice shouts from beneath the cloak. Clutching her shoulder that had a dagger stab through her leather, she fought back the two rogues as she unsheathed an arming sword from under her robes. “That doesn’t belong to you!” She eyes the fancy tome in the hands of one of the vagabonds as a young, dark-haired girl stands behind her.

“Please, miss!” The young girl being shielded shouts behind the fighter. “You don’t have to get it back for me. Let them go. You’ll only get hurt!” She shouts while hooded stranger continues her battle.

“No, Ina!” The swordswoman replies. “That tome is important to you. It’s the only thing you have left of your parents, right?” The stranger says as she dodges and weaves away from incoming cuts. “I insist on getting it back!” She shouts as an upwards swing catches one of the thieves in the chest. The rogue falls back and drops the tome he stole, deciding that fighting this traveling swordswoman wasn’t worth risking their lives. The two thieves stagger back and run to live another day.

“You’re hurt!” The girl known as Ina moves to assist the hooded stranger, who only smiles as she picks up the dropped tome and hands it back to its owner.

“It’s just a scratch.” The stranger in ragged leather tells the young girl. “Nothing I can’t handle.” She says as she places the stolen tome in the young girl’s hands. “There, now you still have something to remember your parents by. Live well, Ina.” The swordswoman leans to pat the young girl on the head. “You’ve been kind to me, but I must be going now. The road calls, and there are many like you who need my help.” She tells the orphan.

“Stay safe, miss…” Ina tells her savior, who only nods and stands to turn her back and face the sunset. She looked tired, but still had that determined look. A kind traveler who wanted to help those in need, despite her obviously old leather armor, rusted weapon, and tattered brown hood. She watches as the traveling swordswoman leaves her village and walks the roads once more. Ina could swear she even saw a fire burning on the shoulder the woman was stabbed in, but she thinks it might just be the sun.

…

“Good morning, Sensei.” Mori Calliope speaks as dawn breaks and brings a tray of food to the old man in their cottage bed. “Did you rest well?” She asks as she assists her teacher who now has his own human form.

“Yes.” Lord Death’s voice comes out not as his ethereal sound, but rather as the rasp of an elderly human man. “This body will allow me to traverse in my own time.” He sits up to stand on the wooden floor.

“I will be going to the villages again today.” The pink-haired girl states. “We need to resupply on our meats and provisions now that you also need to function on human needs.” It was true. Mori Calliope has so far only been providing for herself regarding her mortal form’s needs. She’s been getting by on cheap bread and simple meats to maintain her body, but now that her teacher has joined her in the mortal plane, she felt as if she had to triple efforts in sustaining them. “I will come back by sundown. You have already granted my selfish request to search for this human, so I insist that you stay here for now, Sensei.” She tells her mentor.

“Thank you, apprentice.” The old man smiles. “I trust you to be able to accomplish your tasks. I know you have been working tirelessly over this past month scouring the nearby settlements. I believe we may be close to finding this human of yours soon.” The living antithesis of life in a human body tells his student.

“You praise is wasted on me, Sensei.” Mori bows her head and kneels at the bedside. “I promise I will not waste any more of your time and end this selfish mission.” She then stands up and readjusts the long object hung at her back beneath the red cloak.

“All is forgiven young Mori.” Death tells her. “For your situation is an anomaly even I question.” He speaks in between heavy breaths. “Go find that human and get your answers. We will resume our usual duties after then.” He speaks and then dismisses his apprentice. Knowing her cue, Mori Calliope nods and turns to exit the makeshift homestead. She will find this human soon. She’s determined to end this search quickly and not waste any more time. But first, she must secure their provisions in order to maintain their forms. So, she heads to the nearest settlement to barter for the food they require.

…

Human settlements always bothered Mori Calliope. They were crowded, full of miscreants, and smelled of drunken men and dirty beggars. The reaper in a human body disliked these mortals. As a guardian of death tasked with bringing souls to their afterlife, she always despised the ones who tried to beg her to let them keep living. Humans who died only to realize that they can’t take their superficial belongings with them as well as those desperate and twisted enough to try and barter their way to revival. She hated them. She didn’t believe in these artificial smiles plastered on their faces. They talk and joke with each other as if they were somehow the paragons of goodness, when in actuality they all hid a selfish desire of self-preservation. In the end, all humans only cared about themselves and this showed in their true colors upon confronting their death.

Death’s apprentice never stayed long in these settlements. She only spent the necessary amount of time to listen in inside their taverns and inns. She knew her destined one was someone who got in a lot of fights. She figured they had to be one of the most despicable ones that steal from the weak and bring others down to raise themselves up. Most days, she sat and waited in each village’s tavern, for this was where she learned adventurers liked to stay in. Witch hunters, beast slayers, knights in shining armor searching for a sleeping princess held captive by a dragon, and more. These were the types of humans she learned about and saw possessed many scars. Mori Calliope would spend her days observing these types of humans. Each one she approached cautiously, for she was wary of their strength. Her fated was someone capable of conquering death. She had to quietly and sneakily find ways to know who was her one.

One time, she’d provoked one of these humans. A man donning a bandit’s gear. All it took was a few carefully selected words to jab at his ego and a fight was started. However, Mori knew not to hit back. She took the form of a helpless woman, and so the more noble of the men took to defending her no questions asked. She observed these tavern brawls from the sidelines. She sensed for the pain she anticipated to come, yet nothing ever did.

Her search continued for well over a month in the mortal world. Slowly, she started to get impatient. One of her attempts to search for her fated was to willingly go into one of a village’s dark alleys. She knew of the crooked methods these humans employed, and so was not surprised to be “cornered” by a gang of thieves with their daggers unsheathed. She smiled, for she was prepared for such encounters. A quick grasp at the long object under her cloak was accompanied by a wicked grin. No one saw what happened to those thieves, for there were no identifying features left as the locals found their bodies contorted in ways never thought imaginable. None of them were her fated either. 

The reaper in mortal form spends the day searching once again, though not as thoroughly as she would’ve wanted. Her priority at the moment was to secure the food she and her teacher would need to sustain their bodies. Only half of her time was dedicated to searching as the rest of the day was spent bartering at the local poultry farm. Even if she herself was alright with going by on cheap breads, she wanted only the best meats for her teacher who granted her request.

…

The sun makes its arc across the sky and dawn turns to dusk. The day was nearing its end and Mori made her way down the forest path of the Live Hollow. The forest path was difficult for those who didn’t know its way. Wisps and mischief causing fairies were known to trick the foolish and aloof travelers stupid enough to fall for the mystiques and echoed calls. The mortal world was a peculiar place. Wolves that blew down houses, talking rabbits running late, and other such fairytales. Mori Calliope weaved her way past the brambles and throned woods. She knew her way after studying the area observantly and wasn’t afraid of its tricks.

“No Ame! Just leave me already!” Mori hears a girl’s cry in the middle of the dark woods. “I’ll be fine, save yourself!” She sounded young and could be seen with a cut across her leg, probably from one of the many throned bushes in the forest. She also had another person accompanying her. It seemed these individuals were unfortunate souls who managed to get lost in the tricks of the Live Hollow.

“I won’t leave you just like that Gura!” Another girl answers the first one. “The village should be close by. We’ll get some food and help there.” She also sounded young. “I won’t leave you here to starve!” The one called Ame speaks, clutching her own leg as if she also struggled to stand from pain. Even when she herself had no signs of blood.

Mori Calliope walks a bit closer and sees that two children had ended up lost in the woods. It was a common occurrence in the mortal world. Children were often tempted by stories of fairies and magic that their parents tell them before going to sleep. However, the smarter children would also listen as their parents would also warn them about the monsters that creep when the sun gets low. As if on cue, a snarling growl could be heard echoing from behind the two girls.

“AME! RUN!” Gura screams as she realizes what crept up behind them. Beneath the shadows of the canopy, a large monstrous figure could be seen outlining the dim light. The creature stood tall. Its head was pointed and resembled a dog’s face; however, its body was that of a tall and muscular humanoid other than the grey fur covering its skin. These kids were the unfortunate prey of a werewolf.

“No!!!” The one called Ame pulls at the other girl to stand up. She was panicking. There was absolutely no way two kids could outrun a werewolf in the Live Hollow. “Stand up Gura!” She desperately tries to pull her injured friend up. Mori knew of these girls’ chances. This was their fate. If she cared about humans, maybe she would’ve tried to help, but these two children had no benefit to her search, so she just walks away.

…

“Stand up Gura!” She could hear the child’s scream. Desperately, a traveler under a brown hood ran deep inside the Live Hollow. Her right arm gripped a weapon at her waist. She was needed this hour of twilight.

Breaking into a clearing, the wandering swordswoman stumbles upon a grim scene. Two girls were cowering before a tall and imposing werewolf. The situation doesn’t look good. A werewolf was a fearsome beast, and one who marked its territory in the forests of the Live Hollow was truly one to be feared. With no hesitation, the stranger charges forward with sword in hand.

“DO NOT FEAR!!!” She shouts to grab the beast’s attention. Running forward to stand in between the beast and the children, the cloaked stranger raises her sword to block the predator from its prey. “Your fight is with me!” The traveler shouts and was met with a menacing growl. 

Woman and beast engaged in combat. “Thank you…” Ame whispers as she helps up her friend, immediately understanding the situation. Behind her, growls and whimpers were heard as claw and fang met steel. The traveling swordswoman was fighting the werewolf, and it seemed the two were duking it out.

“Run you two!” The stranger shout as she ducks beneath a claw swipe and leaps to leave a large gash in the monster’s chest. Using her stored momentum, the traveler spun in the air and used her legs to kick herself off the large creature’s torso and fall back the opposite direction of the two girls. “Hey ugly!” She calls to keep the beast’s attention on her. The two children make use of the opportunity to run away. “Don’t you wanna pay me back for that one?” She taunts as she points her rusted sword to the werewolf, who instinctively growls and pounces at the woman. “Thought so.” She whispers as her blade starts to burn an orange hue.

…

As the sun finally sets below the horizon, Mori Calliope walks up to the hidden cottage somewhere in the woods of the Live Hollow. The already dim light of the forest clearing was fading as dusk turns to night. She promised she would be back by sundown, so she kept to her oath and came back home to meet her teacher who was waiting for her in the central room.

The two made simple conversation. Mori Calliope told of her activities for the day and the few humans who stood out to her. She says that none of them seemed to be the one, for none of them gave her any response when tested. The reaper and her mentor end up coming to a short conclusion. Tomorrow, she would be joined by her teacher in her search. Hopefully, they would be able to find this special someone soon. So, they rested for the night. Sleep was a requirement for their mortal bodies, and the reaper wanted to make sure she could operate at optimal efficiency. A few hours pass and the moon takes hold of the sky. It would’ve been a peaceful sleep, if only Mori wasn’t woken up by a noise at the front door.

Mori Calliope jumps awake, her senses telling her that they were not alone this night. Perceiving for a moment allowed her to catch the sound of the front door being opened. Donning her hood, she moves to take a glance from behind her room’s door frame. She could see the person who’s entered their domain.

The human was concealed under a hood. Only lit by moonlight, Mori could see that they were armed. A hilt at the stranger’s side indicated the swordsman variety. The reaper knew of rogues and vagabonds. This person’s tattered clothes indicated that they weren’t fortunate in their life. She suspects that this person was either here to escape something, or worse be looking to loot the home and take anything they could use. Mori would not allow this. She grips the long object hung behind her and charges straight for the intruder.

Caught by surprise, the traveler quickly pulls out her arming sword to block an incoming blow from a strange weapon. Strange, she didn’t think anyone would be living in this once abandoned home. She holds her ground as she could feel the weight of the large weapon pushing at her body. Who was this person? What were they doing in her old house?

Mori Calliope grunts as she pulls back her weapon of choice. It seemed this intruder was much stronger than their relatively small frame indicated. They were the first human who managed to block the swing of her scythe. “Who are you? A thief?” She speaks into the night as she points her weapon forward. “Get out!” She speaks up as she charges once more to swing her large weapon.

The traveler backs up out the home. Who was this girl? How the hell could she wield such a large weapon? There was no time to think as the swordswoman in brown rags steps back out the house and out into the forest clearing. Once outside, she holds her ground and prepares a stance to meet the next blow.

Mori charges once more, her scythe now shimmering under the moonlight. A normally impractical weapon for mortals with its unbalanced design. A weapon more for show than practicality, yet in the hands of a trained reaper, it became something more deadly than just a symbol for the guardians of death. She moves forward and swings, her entire body rotating as the large blade makes a full circle to deal a devastating blow to the intruder. However, Mori was further perplexed as a clang of metal and the sudden upwards turn of her weapon indicate that her blow was parried.

She was strong. The traveler was someone of proficient combat expertise, but even she knew a fighter when she saw one. Whoever this girl was, she certainly wasn’t a normal human who just so happened to take residence in her old home. Lowering her weapon back down from the parry, the traveler speaks. “I’m not here to fight!”

A woman? Mori Calliope hears the intruder speak as she holds her scythe to her side. “Then why do you intrude upon us!?” However, the reaper was not a talker as she once again charges forward, but this time with her weapon up above to do an overhead swing.

The swordswoman sees the incoming attack. Quickly, she rolls to the side and narrowly avoids the gigantic blade that ended up impaling the ground. “I just need a place to rest!” She speaks but was met only with the scythe’s blunt end as the freakishly strong girl pulled her weapon up and hit her with the opposite end. Thankfully, it didn’t cause any real pain as it was blocked by her leather armor.

“Then find somewhere else!” Mori lifts her blade and points it to her side. With one quick circular motion, she swiped all around her as she aimed to cut the downed intruder on the ground. However, a quick look told her that this woman managed to jump at just the right time to avoid her swing. She was good.

“We don’t have to fight!” The traveler shouts as she instead makes a move of her own. Dashing forward to close the distance, the swordswoman aimed to grapple with the scythe wielder and render her long range useless against close quarters. But this girl was fast. Implanting her scythe in the ground, the red-hooded fighter used her weapon as an anchor to jump above the grapple and land behind the traveler.

“Just die, filthy human!” Mori says as she uses her foot to kick her blade up and quickly grab the handle to twist it with the blade pointing up and end this vagabond’s life right there.

The swordswoman could see the blade aimed directly at her stomach. She tries to jump and twist her body to block the blow with her sword but was met with only a painful cut as her sword buckled against the giant weapon’s force. The giant blade caught her sword arm and was accompanied by a large gash moving from her wrist up to her shoulder. “Aaahhh!!!” She shouts in pain.

“Urk!” Mori also grunts. That’s strange, she normally didn’t feel her swings hurt like that. She backs away for a bit while clutching her own arm and leaving the intruder to stumble from her wound. A cut like that would render a human a human unable to fight. Mori managed to slice at the thief’s dominant, which spelled an uneven match despite her capability to fight back earlier. However, what Mori saw instead was something she hadn’t expected.

Fire. The woman’s whole arm was wreathed in orange fire where her wound was inflicted. Strangely, Mori could also feel a burning touch where her own arm hurt. Though not of pain, but rather of healing. The fire lit up the dark part of the forest clearing. In the moonlight, the traveler burned a bright orange and teal flame that seemed almost magical. Looking closely, Mori could see that the wound on her arm started to seal as the ethereal flames closed the gash inflicted by the scythe. 

“You’re…” Mori Calliope watches as she sees the traveler’s hood pull back, revealing a girl with orange hair and eyes that reflected the moonlight as a magenta hue. She smirks as she holds her arm and feels her wound seal. “You’re not human.” The reaper speaks upon realizing what kind of being this person could be.

It all made sense. She could feel it in the same part of her arm the swordswoman was cut. She felt her pain just as she felt her recovery. Magical fire, a being capable of conquering death, something capable of becoming a reaper’s soulmate. An immortal, just like her.

“You’re a phoenix.” She lowers her hood to meet the other immortal being. “It’s you.” She says as she lowers her weapon and meets her destined one. “We need to talk.”

“That I am.” The traveler speaks as her fire starts to flicker away. “You’re pretty strong for a girl your size. Knowledgeable of what I am too.” She chuckles a little. “I’m Takanashi Kiara.” The orange-haired swordswoman gives her name. “As I’ve tried to explain, I just needed to find a place to rest.” The traveler sheathes her sword. “You’re no ordinary human, are you, miss reaper?” She asks a question. “Not just anyone can wield a weapon like yours. What’s your name?”

“Mori Calliope.” The reaper answers. “There are some things I need to ask you, phoenix.” Says the reaper who hid under a red hood. Two fated souls had met each other that night. Little did either know of what was to come for both. A reaper of death and a phoenix of life. The two were opposites, yet were entangled by the threads of fate all the same. Slowly, over the course of millenia, the phoenix would start to change the reaper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something a little different to spice up the formula.  
> I'm gonna be ending this quick work with some fluff, and after that I will be taking a break to think about my next full story.  
> Now I must rest, because this chapter was finished right as Takamori week starts.
> 
> Edit: Should this actually be more than just a one-shot? Gauging interest.


	5. True Feelings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mori Calliope is the Grim Reaper’s apprentice.  
> Cold and determined, she performs her duties without question.  
> Yet, there was always one soul who made her feel strange things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final entry in this one-shot collection.  
> Gotta admit, I didn't actually expect this whole work to get this long with each chapter's wordcount.
> 
> I may or may not have intended to finish this yesterday but was distracted by a certain sheriff and inspector.  
> I totally wasn't enjoying listening to Off With Your Heads on repeat to help it hit a million views either...  
> (Takamori week is a blessing upon this world)

Cold, dark, and unchanging. Mori Calliope never expected anything different. It was hard, being Lord Death’s apprentice. The underworld was a monotonous place, but even it still needed the help of the reapers to keep the stream of life flowing. Someone had to do it, and that someone had to do it right. Those were the thoughts running through the mind of the reaper apprentice as she leads another set of souls to their fates. It was her duty, and it had to be done. She lives for nothing more, so makes sure her duties are fulfilled.

The underworld never changes. Nothing new truly happens in this realm below. There was no day nor night and everything was wrapped in a veil of black. No bright lights, no colorful flowers, nothing special about it at all. Or at least, that’s what the reaper originally thought. After finishing leading the next batch of mortal souls, she sees a peculiar figure appear at the realm’s outskirts. 

Walking forward, Mori Calliope proceeds to prepare and lead this new soul to their afterlife. This was the fate of all mortals after all. To live their lives and then send their life essence back where it came. However, getting closer to this new soul raised a couple of questions in the reaper’s mind. It looked like any human girl’s soul at first glance, but this one glowed with a soft light as she started to get close enough to see. Her hair was a bright orange, yet her form was outlined in a teal shine. She looked human, but the reaper felt she was something much more. She had a worried look on her face, which was made all the more obvious when the soul notices the pink-haired reaper approach her.

“Where am I?” The bright soul asks. “What is this place?” She asks as she turns her head and sees only a vast expanse of darkness.

“You’ve died.” Mori says, bluntly. “And I’m here to lead you to your fate.” The reaper holds out her hand to proceed with her duties. However, the girl’s response to this was something the apprentice never thought to see in a soul passing through.

“Oh.” The soul’s face then turns from a worried look to a more calmed composure. “I guess this is what it looks like, huh?” She smiles, looking to meet her guide in the eye. “Sorry, I’m new to this.” The soul says.

“This is the underworld, yes.” This soul was certainly strange. In all her time doing her duties, the mortals she leads to their fates usually turned grim when accepting the reality of their deaths. “Your time has ended, and I’m here to lead you to where you’re to go next.” However, the reaper will not let herself indulge in such curiosities.

“Oh, I think you misunderstand.” The soul lifts her hands up in response. “I’m not here to go through that. I won’t stay dead.” She speaks, receiving a raised eyebrow from the reaper.

“All mortals must face their fates.” Mori had enough of this. “You are to go to your afterlife, just like everyone else.” She waits for the soul to take her hand.

“Yeah, about that…” The soul fidgets a bit in her posture. “I’m not actually a human.” She says, causing the reaper to blink twice at what she just heard. “I’m a phoenix. I’m gonna be going back soon too.”

A phoenix? Mori Calliope has heard of these beings before. She knows of them to be immortals. Mythical creatures who die and are reborn again. But why did this one look like a human?

“Sorry for the trouble miss reaper. It’s just that this is my first time actually dying so I’m not used to it yet.” The immortal apologizes. “It was nice to meet you though. What’s your name? I’m Takanashi Kiara.” The phoenix asks, making conversation. Another strange thing to say to a reaper.

“Mori Calliope.” She finally lowers her hand. “If that’s all, then I must leave you here now.” The reaper turns her back to start walking away, but a hand grabbing at her arm stops her from leaving. “What?”

“Don’t just leave!” Mori turns her head to see the phoenix pouting. “It’s kinda lonely down here…” Her face once again turns to a worried look as she scans the area that she ended up in. It seemed she actually was a little scared.

“I’m not here to-” The reaper stops her speech, for she feels something quite strange. As she observes the phoenix’s soul visibly shake at the thought of being alone in this dark place, she also feels a quivering take over her own body. She felt anxious. Almost like she’s feeling fear. But that can’t be. She’s a reaper. She couldn’t feel.

“I still need to wait until I revive…” The phoenix says under her breath while holding the reaper’s arm. “…can you stay with me until then? I don’t want to be alone here.” Mori Calliope could feel the phoenix’s hand shaking. “Please?” She normally wouldn’t dare entertain any soul, but there was something about this one that made the reaper think twice.

“A-alright.” Why was she feeling this? She’s a reaper. She shouldn’t be able to feel. Why was she agreeing to this again? “You have nothing to fear. Nothing can hurt you here.” She pulls the phoenix’s hand off her arm, gently.

“Thank you.” Mori hears the phoenix softly speak. Then, as if to confirm her suspicions, the unnatural shakiness that the reaper felt was also slowly fading away. 

“Just don’t waste too much of my time.” Did phoenix’s have the ability to share their emotions? No, that can’t be right. Mori Calliope would’ve known about that. This soul truly was a peculiar one.

“Can I call you Calli?” The soul asks, her anxieties seeming to have gone away for the most part.

“That isn’t my name.” Mori Calliope has talked with the souls she leads before, but this girl was the first one who actively tried to start a conversation with the reaper. Does this girl not realize who she’s talking to?

“Yeah, but it’s cute.” Takanashi Kiara smiles at the reaper. “You’re cute, so I thought you deserve a cute nickname.” She giggles. “It’s something the humans do. I learned it from them.” The orange-haired girl winks.

“…” The reaper didn’t know how to respond to that one. This phoenix was only just overtaken by fear a few moments ago and now she’s… flirting with her? “I suppose it doesn’t really change anything.” Yet, Mori couldn’t understand why her cold exterior just seems to fail in the presence of this girl. “Call me whatever you like.” What’s the harm in entertaining this soul for a few moments?

…

Time continues to pass, the world continues to turn, and the reaper apprentice continues to attend to her duties. Constant, unchanging work. With each set of souls, Mori Calliope walks to meet the humans who’ve met their end. Some looked to have passed on through old age, some still looked to have been in the middle of their lives, and some unfortunately looked to be young. Different humans, but all meeting the same end.

However, this period of the reaper’s service wasn’t quite as usual as she would’ve liked it to be. For the past year or so in mortal time, there’s been a steady influx of more and more souls being sent to their ends. Through quiet observation, Mori Calliope saw that most of them looked to be humans of all ages but shared the appearance of peasants and the impoverished. Death’s apprentice wasn’t ignorant of times like these. She was sharp enough to be able to deduce that something was happening in the human world to be related to these souls. Famine, war, or pestilence. Death’s fellow horsemen were prevalent in times of mortal crisis.

But the reaper didn’t show any pity, nor did she express care. Human troubles were beyond her. Getting invested in their lives was something she adamantly opposed, for she knew of her place as an immortal who’ll only continue to see their short lives come to an end time and time again. They were all the same in the grand tapestry of fate. As was such with all who’ve passed through the underworld. Well, with one exception.

After leading the last soul of the batch to their afterlife, Mori Calliope sensed the presence of another manifesting in the underworld’s outskirts. Her senses were keen, as was demanded of the Grim Reaper’s next in line. Normally, she wouldn’t think anything more of this type of occurrence. Death was a steady force of nature. However, the unnatural feeling welling up in the reaper’s chest was causing her to think otherwise.

Mori Calliope felt a sinking in her chest. It was almost as if her heart became heavy. Her throat felt tight and something inside herself made her want to just fall and break down. What was this feeling? Why does she feel so distraught? She asks internally but knew not to dally and continued walking to meet this new soul. There was no excuse for inefficiency. She had a job to do.

Once again walking out into the underworld’s outskirts, Mori Calliope could make out a familiar glow in the distance. Like a soft candle’s flame in a sea of darkness, she could make out the outline of a soul she met a millennium ago. She walks closer, but as more and more of the phoenix became visible, the reaper could see that her soul was kneeling on the ground with her hands on her face. A slight shaking also told her that the one who called herself Takanashi Kiara was seemingly crying. At a steady pace, the reaper eventually walked up in front of the phoenix.

“It’s you again.” Mori speaks in a straightforward manner. However, she was met with no response as the phoenix continued to kneel on the ground sobbing. “I assume you know that you’re dead.” Another sentence that fell on unresponsive ears. Sighing to herself, the reaper eventually kneels to meet the phoenix at eye level and speaks again. “Get up.” The sobbing stops for a moment as the reaper’s call was seemingly heard.

“Oh.” Takanashi Kiara lowers her hands from her face and sees the face of the same reaper she saw a millenia ago. “Hey, Calli.” She sniffles once. “It’s nice to see you again. Sorry you had to see me like this.” The phoenix weakly smiles.

“You’re a mess.” Mori presents her hand for Kiara to take, which she does and the two are lifted to stand. “You know you’re just going to be reborn again, right? Frankly, you should be the only one not crying when coming here.” As the two stabilize their posture, Mori could see the phoenix’s face was wet from her tears.

“Thanks for that…” Kiara says as se wipes away the wetness on her cheeks. A couple seconds of silence pass as the phoenix takes a moment to compose herself. Looking the reaper in the eyes, she speaks in a sadder tone than her last conversation with the apprentice. “But I’m not like this because I died…” She lets out.

Mori Calliope stays silent. She couldn’t even say exactly why she decided to help the phoenix. Being there to accompany her had no benefit to her work. Normally, she would just leave it there and leave this girl to bide her time until she inevitably revives. However, the pulling at her chest still refused to go away, and it made her think a little differently, if only for this moment.

“It’s… something to do with the humans…” Kiara admits. “I…” She tries to continue, but only holds back more tears trying to escape her eyes. “S-sorry… I’m a bit of a wreck right now…” The phoenix lowers her head to look down.

“Did they kill you?” Mori Calliope asks, a swirling of emotion also brewing inside her as well, though she couldn’t understand why. “Were you betrayed?” The reaper knew of the ways that mortals can be cruel. Seeing as many souls as she does, she often overhears some of the souls crying about unfairness. She couldn’t care about their pleas. She never felt anything for them. But for some reason, she becomes different when it’s with Takanashi Kiara. The girl wasn’t human, and she’s only met her twice now, but she acted and felt as if she was one of the mortals. 

“Oh, no! No, it’s not like that!” The phoenix lifts her head and waves her hands to indicate that her state is because of a different reason. “It’s just… I couldn’t help them…” She admits, frowning at having to remember. “I wasn’t enough…” 

“Help them?” Mori recalls the recent flow of numerous souls. “Are you referring to what’s been causing a lot of them to die for the past year?” She asks, having a rough idea of what Kiara could be talking about.

“Yeah…” Takanashi Kiara confirms. “Their countries have been going to war recently, and a lot of them have ended up suffering because of it.” Just as Mori thought. “I knew I was reaching the end of my time, but I wanted to help them.” The phoenix starts to explain. “I saw what they were going through. Families lost their homes, children lost their parents, and many were too weak to survive even one day in all the chaos.” She tells of her experience.

War was definitely an explanation of what Mori Calliope has been seeing with all the recent souls. It was a time of conflict. Humans were social creatures, and often lived inside societies where large groups of them were governed by rulers and leaders. Often, these leaders would go to war with each other. Be it for power, conquest, material gain, or other selfish reasons the reaper couldn’t understand. It was almost always guaranteed that whenever these wars would happen, the less fortunate in life would always be the first ones to suffer.

“I knew I could help them.” Kiara says. “I wanted to save as many of them as I could. I tried to save as much as possible by giving them some of my own life, but…” She takes a moment before continuing. “…I was already nearing the end of my second life. I didn’t have enough to give up.” The phoenix starts to cry once again, making the reaper feel something try to break free from inside her too. “I couldn’t save enough of them…”

“You did what you could.” Mori Calliope attempts to reassure the girl. “It was very noble of you to give up your own life like that, though I can’t say I understand why you’re so willing to help them.” Why was she doing this? Why won’t this aching in her heart stop? “Do you want me to stay with you again until you go?” Why was she feeling these strange things when near this girl? These were the questions she tried to ponder but were held off as the sad phoenix immediately went in to hug the reaper after her offer.

“Yes please…” Mori Calliope could hear Takanshi Kiara whisper as the phoenix buries her face in the reaper’s shoulder. “I’d like that, thank you…” 

The reaper didn’t know why she didn’t try to break free of the embrace. She also didn’t know why she let herself converse with a soul as much as she has. All she truly knew was that as the warm embrace lasted longer and longer, the discord of emotion in her own heart was starting to fade once more.

…

“Hey Calli!” Mori Calliope hears an all too familiar voice calling to her as she walks up to the underworld’s edge. Takanashi Kiara was waving to her.

It’s been multiple millennia since the two first met. Over the course of the phoenix’s multiple lives, the reaper has come to be used to the time the two inevitably spend with each other. It was basically routine at this point. Mori would sense a new soul entering the underworld, feel something strange well up from inside her, and walk to meet the familiar sight.

“How’ve you been, Calli?” Kiara asks as the two once again meet at the realm’s edge. “What should we talk about this time?” She probes the apprentice.

“I’ve told you already. Nothing new ever happens here.” Mori replies. “I don’t know what you expect me to say.” Their conversations always start out like this. Kiara starts them off by asking Mori how she’s doing, gets the same reply each time, and then tells of herself instead.

“Nothing at all?” The phoenix asks, putting her hands behind her back. “I still don’t understand how you don’t bore yourself to death down here.” She continues the conversation. “Ah, well maybe because you are death.” She quietly laughs at the unintentional joke. “Are you at least enjoying what you do?” Kiara asks.

“…” Mori ponders the question for a moment. While it was true that she felt honored about having her job, she wasn’t quite sure herself if she truly did enjoy what she was doing. She held her teacher in high regard and was thankful to be able to serve directly under Lord Death himself, but at the same time she never really gave it any thought if she truly did want what she had. She knew she wouldn’t give it up for the world, that much is true, but she also never thought about how long she’d end up doing the same things over and over again.

“Hmmm…” Mori realizes that she hasn’t actually replied, and the fact was obviously noticed by Kiara. “You really don’t get anything new to happen down here, huh?” For a moment, the phoenix looks past the reaper and into the dark and unchanging black expanse. “Do you guys at least get vacation? Like some places to relax and rest your pretty heads?” She says that last part with a smile. “I’ve seen humans that work as hard as you do and even they need to get some time-off after working for so long.”

“No, we don’t.” Mori answers. “We reapers don’t need such things. We don’t get tired like humans do.” She says in her usual emotionless voice. “We perform the duties asked of us and we keep doing so until our time is served.”

“Ehhh, but that sounds so boring.” Kiara tilts her head at that response. “Someone like you deserves at least a rest every now and again, don’t you think?” She asks the reaper but was only met with Mori’s usual blank silence. Furrowing her brows, Kiara thinks on the topic she wants to bring up next. “I know!” She gets an idea. “Why don’t you come up with me to the human world?” She suggests, causing Mori’s eyes to widen in response. “I can take you to some nice places and we can spend even more time together since I won’t be limited like I am here.” She giggles a little. “I can finally take you out on a date too.” The phoenix grins a mischievous smile.

“That’s…” Mori never thought of actually doing what Kiara suggested. Her whole existence was spent tending to the souls down in the underworld. Never did she consider the need to actually go up and see it herself. “No, I can’t do that.” She lets out bluntly, knowing where this bird would take the conversation with that last comment. “I can’t just abandon my duties just so that you have an excuse to bother me more.” The reaper says, causing the phoenix’s face to shift to a saddened look.

“Oh…” Kiara responds, her smile turning into a frown. “I guess I was a little too forward with that one…” The atmosphere between the two suddenly felt heavier. “Do I really bother you that much?” She asks Mori, who realizes the impact of what she just said. “I just thought that we know each other enough for me to start bringing up these things. Sorry if I misunderstood…” Her head lowers and she stares at the ground instead.

“I-” Mori cuts herself off. Not just because of that response, but because of the feeling inside her once again returning. It happened all too often now. “It’s not like that…” Whenever Kiara visibly showed prominent emotion, Mori would also feel something similar form inside her too. “You’re… not as bothersome as…” Her words fail her as she feels the same sadness the phoenix felt.

She didn’t know why this always happened. Over the countless visits, the reaper was able to put together that it truly was because of Takanashi Kiara that she felt the things that she did. Normally, she would be cold. Emotionless and focused only on her task. However, in the presence of Kiara, Mori Calliope developed emotion. Whenever Kiara visited with a smile on her face, Mori would feel warm. Whenever Kiara looked gloomy, Mori’s heart felt heavy. She never asked the phoenix if she was aware of these strange effects. In fact, she never tried to ask Kiara anything. Despite how many times they’ve interacted with each other by now, their conversations always felt one-sided.

“I… don’t actually mind you all that much…” Mori admits, trying to cheer up the sad phoenix. “I’m sorry about what I said.” The reaper apologizes, causing Kiara to raise her head and meet her in the eyes. “It’s just that I never actually tried to ask my master for anything. I don’t know how he’d take something like that from me.” For the first time, the reaper actually tells a little something about herself. “Sorry.”

“Oh, it’s fine.” Kiara smiles. “I didn’t consider what asking that of you meant.” It seemed she was willing to put it behind her. “I think that’s actually the first time you told me something about yourself.” Her speech slowly turned back into a more casual tone. “You seem to respect your master a lot. Is he someone that the reapers look up to?” She asks.

“Yeah, he’s Lord Death. The Grim Reaper.” Mori confirms. “I’m actually his apprentice.” The reaper tells the phoenix. “I’m next in line to inherit his title.” That last part caused the other girl’s eyes to widen in surprise.

“You are!?” Takanashi Kiara aggressively grabs Mori Calliope by the arms and shakes the reaper back and forth. “Oh god, I’m so sorry for wasting so much of your time like this…” She realizes exactly what her time with the reaper meant regarding Mori’s job. “Oh wow, that’s actually pretty big…” The phoenix fidgets nervously. “Oh, uh, well, I’m probably gonna end up reviving soon. You can stop wasting your time on me.” She lets go and turns her back. “I’ll, uh, leave you to your duties then hehe…” Kiara tries to walk away but then realizes that she has nowhere to actually go beyond the realm’s edge. “Yeah, uh, forget I said anything about that offer!” She turns back to face Mori, then sees that her body started to glow a bright light. “Well, I’m gonna stop wasting your time now…” She gives the reaper one last smile. “Bye, Calli…” She gives the reaper a parting wave, which triggers something inside the reaper.

“Wait!” Mori Reaches out her hand and calls to the phoenix. “You don’t have to stop talking to me just because of that…” The reaper says. “I don’t know if I could accept the offer right away but…” Kiara waits for her to finish. “Maybe I can try to talk to Sensei to let me go there with you…” The reaper puts her hand on her arm and bashfully looks down. “I don’t exactly hate the idea or anything…” She admits, clumsily.

“You’re open to it!?” Mori feels her shoulders being shaken as she’s forced to look at the lit-up girl. She realizes the shaking wouldn’t stop until she responds, so she just nods at the question. “Yay!!!” Kiara hugs the reaper around her neck as her body continues to brighten. “Thank you Calli!” Mori doesn’t try to break free of the hug. “I’ll see you soon, my wife!” The phoenix says happily as her body flashes with a blinding light for a moment and then disappears as her time dead ends abruptly, leaving the reaper alone once again.

“D-don’t get the wrong idea, dumb bird…” Mori Calliope grumbles to no one. “It’s not because of you or anything.” She rolls her eyes. Although, as much as she would like to deny it, the reaper felt a warm happiness spread across her face as her lips shift into a smile. “Maybe I just want to take a break.” She tells herself.

…

“Um…” Mori Calliope speaks into a small device in front of her. “So, Kiara. You can pull yourself up if you want.” She tells the other girl currently in her apartment in the ‘underworldian’ part of Japan. The two were currently recording themselves using a device invented by the humans called a ‘camera’. Beside her, Takanashi Kiara was comedically rising up from the floor in order to get in view of the technology’s lens, making the reaper laugh a little. “Don’t make it weird dude.” She tells the phoenix mumbling a short jingle as she rises up to show herself on the colorful slab of glass called a screen where the camera device replicates the view it sees.

“Kikerikiiiii!~” Takanashi Kiara greets not a person in the room with them, but rather a whole crowd of invisible humans who they know were watching their actions on the other side of the weird mortal invention.

“Is her volume okay?” Mori asks into the small device on hanging in front of the two that she was told was called a ‘microphone’. Her question was regarding if the phoenix’s voice was being picked up by the human invention and allowing the humans to hear her.

“Can I get closer to you?” Kiara not so subtly asks and waits for no response as she moves herself closer beside the reaper to share the same microphone.

“Eh, it’s fine.” Mori says as the phoenix keeps getting closer. “Just not too close.” The reaper stops the bird in her approach as she was getting way too close to just check for their sound.

“I’m just getting closer because the microphone is there, and I need to reach it.” Kiara says, not lying but also not telling the whole truth. Yes, the microphone was the only reason she was getting closer.

“What are you trying to do?” Mori chuckles slightly as she sees the phoenix put her mouth very close to the microphone and was making incomprehensible sounds to either test if it’s working or just to goof off. “Don’t touch my microphone! I spent a lot of money on that.” The reaper lifts up a hand and pulls the phoenix back a little as she was dragging out the bit for a little too long.

“It’s not like I wanna get closer to you. It’s just the microphone.” Kiara says with mischief obviously heard in her tone. “Aaaah.” She once again gets closer to the device.

“Ah geez…” Mori grumbles at the weird phoenix. The reaper knew she had to deal with her antics a lot more frequently now that the two agreed to partake in this ‘streaming’ job for the humans, but that didn’t mean she still wasn’t a little perplexed by the phoenix’s random tendencies to mess around in her presence.

It’s been about half a millennium since the two had last met and conversed that one time in the underworld. The two talked about Mori Calliope potentially asking for a break from her reaping job as Lord Death’s apprentice and had a heart-to-heart where the reaper first truly opened up to Takanashi Kiara.

After that last encounter, Mori ended up thinking a lot about what Kiara had said. Maybe she did deserve a break from her duties. She was working with almost no time to herself in the underworld leading souls to their fates. Surprisingly, when she first brought the thought up to her teacher after a hundred or so years, the reaper was pleasantly surprised to hear her master be so open and approving of the idea. Mori couldn’t believe it at first, but her mentor wouldn’t let her dissuade him as Lord Death commented on how she’s never truly asked for anything in all her time of serving under him. The Grim Reaper gladly allowed for his apprentice to go on hiatus and take some time off. 

And so, that’s how she ended up going with Takanashi Kiara up to the human world. While Mori only requested for a short break from her duties, ‘short’ actually ended up amounting to quite a few decades in the human world. Everyone involved in the request was an immortal after all and had nowhere near as pressing time issues as the humans did. 

At first, the two wandered in disguised forms in the human world. Kiara wanted to take Mori to see the marvelous world the humans built. The phoenix took the reaper to see the sights in the human country of ‘Japan’ where tall structures made of metal and glass stood and droves of humans walked the streets. It was truly a sight to behold for the reaper on hiatus.

After some years, the two even heard of a way that Kiara could tell Mori about the wonders and fun of being with humans. The two hid in human form and so were treated as such. They needed identities and human money if they wanted to stay in the country for some years. The two heard of the ‘Hololive’ streamer group and decided to apply as idols together so that they can earn what they needed to truly enjoy the human world, because Kiara absolutely insisted that Mori wouldn’t abuse her immortality to get away with stealing from the humans.

Funnily enough, the two ended up pitching themselves using their immortal identities as their proposed online personas. Mori Calliope was hired to take the identity of a reaper on hiatus and Takanashi Kiara was hired and took on the identity of an immortal phoenix who had a long history with the reaper who couldn’t actually kill her. The two laughed about it afterwards. Now they lived in human homes and used the mortal inventions provided to them in order to serve as entertainers for the humans.

>   
>  **Top Chat:**  
> 
> 
> * * *
> 
> _**TakamoriLife – KFP Trash Can:** lmao they’re so in sync with each other  
>  **Aihara Spicy:** Yeah, they almost feel like soulmates lol  
>  **KorrasamiOTP:** I’m willing to bet they secretly are soulmates with how often they sync with their emotions  
>  **AdaShimaFluff:** Wouldn’t it be too much of a coincidence for these two to be soulmates?  
>  **NanamiToukoneedsahug:** Maybe it was planned? They do work well together_  
> 

“Hey, Kusotori.” Mori Calliope calls for the phoenix after recovering from their shared laughter. “Chat’s calling us soulmates. Is this a human term I don’t know about?” She asks, genuinely curious.

“Eh, Calli? You don’t know what soulmates are?” Takanashi Kiara asks the reaper who shakes her head, causing both the phoenix and the chat to visibly freak out. “How could y-” Then Kiara remembers that Mori never had any real exposure to the human world before now. “Ah, of course.”

“What?” Mori switches between watching chat and waiting for the phoenix to answer. “Is this another thing they’ll call me a boomer for not knowing?”

“Soulmates are people who are destined to be together.” Kiara answers Mori’s query. “They say that two soulmates tend to share the same emotions when they’re near each other.” She giggles. “Chat’s calling us that because they think we’re meant for each other Calli~” The phoenix winks at the reaper who only just now learned about something she spent millennia thinking about. “I’ve only heard about it be a thing with humans though. I’m not so sure how it would be a thing with us.” For the two, it was a serious answer, but from the perspective of their viewers, it looked like a way to avoid the question entirely.

“Oh.” Mori Calliope, after how many years, finally makes the connection. “Yeah, I don’t know what chat’s talking about.” She eyes the camera and then Kiara. “We definitely aren’t meant for each other, Kusotori.”

“Aww, you don’t have to be so shy about it Calli.” Kiara gets closer again.

“Stop that, you chicken!” Mori tries to push her away, but deep inside she could feel the shared happiness she knew both of them felt at their time together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was a fun side project. Saying this now: I plan to take another break before writing something else. This time though, I'm probably gonna actually take a week or longer off to handle some irl stuff like my studies and other responsibilities that are starting to pile up on me. I have at least two more works planned for this pairing though, so look forward to that when I get back. 
> 
> Writing for a whole month straight has been fun, truly, but I need a break to put my time into other things that need it. It's been a wild ride and I'm very thankful that so many people ended up reading the random ideas I decided to write out. I wouldn't've done it without all of your support.
> 
> This has been **feartheViolet** , your resident Takamori shipper, and you've reached the end of _Soulmate Saga_.  
> I'll see you all in the next entries in _Takamori: Unlimited AU Works!_


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